Only days after coverage of the third annual Montana Conference on Race spawned the headline "Racism alive and well in state," a commission on public education in Montana voted to recommend that the state fully fund the Indian Education For All Act.

It's a good idea, but one that's a tad overdue.

The act expresses language of the Montana constitution, enacted in 1972, which says "The state recognizes the distinct and unique cultural heritage of the American Indians and is committed in its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural integrity."

Those words have echoed hollowly ever since, with essentially no standards or funding for Indian education. District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock, in his ruling last spring regarding the lack of adequate funding for quality education in Montana, specifically mentioned the constitutional requirement for Indian heritage and said Montana "has shown no commitment in its educational goals to the preservation of (American Indians') cultural identity."

In addition to calling for the state to develop curriculums, teacher training, policies and standards for teaching all Montana students about the state's native people, the 28-member School Renewal Commission urged the state to eliminate the disparities in educational achievements between Indian and non-Indian students, an important goal. But it is the heritage issue raised by the constitution that speaks as well to racism.

A tendency toward fear and distrust of the "other" - be it those who look different than we do, act different than we do, or just don't share all of our particular mores - isn't going to disappear any time soon. It's a trait built into hunter-gatherer clans for untold millennia. But much of racism is taught, a false kind of "education" that only familiarity with real people can overturn.

Teaching Indian heritage isn't some kind of empty-headed, feel-good idea. Indian heritage happens to be a vital part of Montana's history, far too basic to be ignored. To the extent that such teaching also helps combat racism through a new familiarity - that's icing on the cake.