Montana's Poet Laureate Chris La Tray (and resources for teaching about the Métis/Little Shell)

Montana Historical Society sent this bulletin at 09/21/2023 07:00 AM MDT

Teaching Montana History

Of special interest to: Folks interested in IEFA and ELA integration and/or Teaching with Primary Sources

Re: Chris LaTray, Little Shell Tribal Member and Montana's New Poet Laureate and the Teaching with Primary Sources Teachers Network

Chris LaTray (Little Shell/Métis) is Montana's newest poet laureate. His book, One-Sentence Journal was recognized with the 2018 Montana Book Award, the 2019 High Plains Book Award (Best First Book), and as a finalist for the 2019 High Plains Book Award (Best Book by Indigenous Writer).

Thanks to retired elementary librarian Ruth Ferris for gathering information about Chris and about the Little Shell and Métis in an album she created for the Teaching with Primary Sources Teachers Network (TPS). The album includes links to video interviews and presentations, newspaper articles, and a sample of Métis music.

A side note about TPS: "The TPS Teachers Network is a password-protected, peer-to-peer platform designed to support teachers, librarians, and other educators in the use of Library of Congress primary sources to improve student learning." Membership to the network is free and open to everyone. And because Ruth is a TPS Mentor Teacher, there's even a subgroup: TPS Montana, that includes albums on 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, and Contemporary Native American Artists, among other topics.

In addition to the material Ruth gathered, I invite you to explore MTHS's resources on the Little Shell and Métis:

"Who Are the Metis?"(Designed for grades 3-6) This PowerPoint lesson plan introduces the Métis, an important Montana cultural group with roots in the fur trade.
Recognized at Last: The Little Shell Chippewa (Designed for grades 5-12) This 30-50 minute PowerPoint lesson provides a brief introduction to the Little Shell Chippewa and their fight for tribal recognition.
"Sun Dance in Silver Bow: Urban Indian Poverty in the Shadow of the Richest Hill on Earth" is a PowerPoint-based lesson plan that explores the complexity underpinning the change-over (or reconfiguration) of the West (and particularly Montana) from Aboriginal lands into Euro-American hands at the end of the nineteenth century. (I highly recommend mining this PPT for materials and primary sources, rather than simply presenting it. There is really great stuff in here.)
"Montana's Landless Indians and the Assimilation Era of Federal Indian Policy: A Case of Contradiction" is a week-long primary-source based unit designed for grades 11-12 (and college) to introduce students to the history of the landless Métis, Cree, and Chippewa Indians in Montana between 1889 and 1916, while giving them an opportunity to do their own guided analysis of historical and primary source materials.

OPI also has some materials:

P.S. In our "Best of, Middle School" post, Jennifer Hall said her students loved The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture's lesson on finger weaving, which she had them do after reading the book The Flower Beadwork People.

Teaching Montana History is edited (and mostly written) by MTHS Outreach and Interpretation Program Manager Martha Kohl.