Spring Brings New Life
It has been a busy Spring so far, but our team is coming together and our work is progressing quickly. Conversations across Indian Country have been happening around student support and care. A centered mind can take in what is being taught. It is the direction we are taking as Tribal Consultation will move to face to face planning throughout the summer with Educational Summits in August and September. Our Elder Cultural Wisdom Council (ECWC) has provided guidance on integration of land based knowledge and relational connections to our team as we include these options in our unit and various school districts.
The Tribal Relations and Resiliency Unit applied for an AmeriCorps Planning Grant in April and has been selected to receive an award. The grant will focus on developing a plan for utilizing AmeriCorps volunteers from tribal nations to serve within their own communities and braid together tribally specific culture and education teachings with direction from Cultural Knowers and Educators.
On Tuesday, May 3rd - youth from the statewide leadership group called RISE put on a virtual youth conference. Youth from Big Sky High School, Willard Alternative High School, Poplar High School, and Hardin High School were present with youth from freshman to senior in attendance with us.
RISE
The conference was youth designed and youth led with students facilitating the entire conference! Youth facilitators recruited and eventually introduced the speakers as they shared strength and leadership efforts from Tribal Communities. Student leaders from Hardin High School introduced the Northern Arapaho Tribal Chairman, Jordan Dresser coming from the Wind River reservation as the keynote speaker for the conference. Chairman Dresser was identified by the committee as a 34 year old Chairman with strong ambitions towards a new direction in leadership. An accepting and protective future for all youth. He also spoke of his leadership in his own community and his work as a documentarian and filmmaker as he gave the youth a role model they could connect to. Student leaders from Big Sky High School invited Leonard Bastien, a tribal elder who spoke of respect, the roles of our youth, and emphasized ultimate love. Lastly, our youth ran a virtual stick game over zoom and developed a shortened version that is compatible with the online format.
Overall, the youth were able to practice public speaking, facilitation and leadership at this virtual conference. Our Vista, Anna Marsicano was able to see a full year's worth of growth in our RISE youth who continue to rise into outstanding leaders for their schools and community.
School Mental Health Support Services
School Mental Health Support Services Coordinator, Crystal Hickman, provided Restorative Practice training to the Project Aware program in Polson this month. Restorative Practice continues to be an important aspect of providing trauma informed care within education communities. Crystal has also worked alongside Project Aware, School Safety and School-Based Health to reorganize the Montana Student Wellness Advisory Committee (MSWAC) to incorporate action-oriented workgroups that will form goals and move mental health solutions for Montana students forward. The MSWAC met for its first reorganization meeting in May and will continue meeting monthly while developing new workgroups in the areas of Family and Community Engagement, Youth Voice, and Workforce/Professional Development.
Language and Culture
The Month of June is packed with professional development. Our webpage features links to language and culture events from Crow country to the Flathead reservation on up to Blackfeet territory. We encourage educators at all levels to look for opportunities to learn about the language and culture that is informed by the great land of Montana that we all recreate in and call home. Our lands provide great learning opportunities to pass along to our young learners, so we encourage our educators to embrace the indigenous knowledge of place names and members of the community that includes the abundance of life from berries to bears. We hope our language and indigenous knowledge systems will help all of our young people find their place within this great community and acting as proper guides with knowledge rooted in the languages and cultural expressions of the indigenous people will be a great way to serve our next generations. All content areas/backgrounds welcome!
In addition, many communities are holding powwows and festivals for the first time in a few years! This is an opportunity for many young people to demonstrate proficiency in ways that are not often measured in classrooms. Come help us celebrate! See you @ the fry bread stand!
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.
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