[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 77 (Thursday, May 9, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E563]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                  RECOGNIZING BETTY COOPER OF BROWNING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GREG GIANFORTE

                               of montana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 9, 2019

  Mr. GIANFORTE. Madam Speaker, with Mother's Day around the corner, I 
rise today to honor Betty Cooper of Browning for her advocacy for 
families and mental health services as well as for being named 
Montana's 2019 Mother of the Year by American Mothers.
   Betty Cooper is the mother of five, a grandmother, and an enrolled 
member of the Blackfeet Tribe. She was born and raised in Browning. In 
1963, Betty moved to the San Francisco Bay area with her husband and 
children. There, she became involved in substance abuse prevention and 
treatment in the Indian community. She helped establish the American 
Indian Family Healing Center in Oakland, CA, and served as director for 
a decade.
   Returning home to Montana, she helped establish the Pikuni Family 
Healing Center in Starr School.
   Betty was among over two dozen prominent Native American advocates 
featured in Surviving in Two Worlds: Contemporary Native American 
Voices, a book by Lois Crozier-Hogle and Darryl Babe Wilson.
   Betty has served on the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council and has 
been an advocate for individuals with mental illness.
   American Mothers, a non-profit organization founded in 1935, named 
Betty Montana's Mother of the Year for 2019. In her recent address at 
the group's annual meeting, Betty said, ``Love our children; look them 
in the eye; hug them close and tell them you love them. When a child 
knows they are loved, everything else falls in place. Each of our 
children is a gift to us from the Creator.''
   Madam Speaker, truer words were never spoken.
   Madam Speaker, for her dedication to family, advocacy for mental 
health services, and leadership in the Indian community, I recognize 
Betty Cooper for her spirit of Montana.

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