 Oki,
It is basketball tournament season, one of the best times of the year! Good luck to all your teams and may they fight hard, stay healthy and have fun! Since the addition of the American Indian Student Achievement unit, we are working on strategies and vision. We have many great initiatives happening with more on the horizon as our unit develops this solid foundation of support for the administrators, teachers, students and Tribal Nations. We will be hosting a Tribal Nation Education Summit with the Tribal Nations and Departments, District Administrators, KKIN, TSARR, CSS and RISE youth members in attendance. It will be the first of its kind with a focus on solutions, communication and relationships. Changing things up and trying something new. This important event will be held on April 5-6, 2023, at the MSU-Billings campus. The agenda is being finalized with connection, communication, and collaboration being the goal.
More information to come.
Language and Culture
Amba Daya everyone!
We here in the Tribal Relations office have been on the road visiting our neighbors and engaging in good consultation. We’ve checked in with schools from Ft. Belknap to Blackfeet communities and are excited about the progression in the development of language guides and curriculum coming from our indigenous communities. The Tribal Relations office has also successfully connected our youth RISE group with our advisory KKIN group on the road to a truly enculturated experience at school. Furthermore, we are moving forward with a statewide youth education conference to help bring these groups together in person. We hope to continue to find experiential ways for our youth to connect to our elder advisors. Our team has also been providing updates to our Indian Caucus at the Montana state capital. The momentum to help support Native Language Revitalization efforts are reaching across the country and this year the National Indian Education Association will be adding their advocacy to the movement.
With the warm weather quickly approaching, we are excited for a season of (powwow) celebrations. Be on the lookout in your local community for upcoming dates. We also hope with the warmer weather than you find some time to bring your education experiences to the outdoors for your students. We encourage educators to reach-out/ dig-in to the resources that our Tribal Relations and IEFA teams have assembled or may have extension activities to.
Thank you (Pinamaya) and have a good day!
Matt Bell
matthew.bell@mt.gov
Mental Health and Wellness
Crystal Hickman presented to the Tribal Caucus earlier in the month. Sharing the efforts we've brought around student holistic and mental health supports. Crystal has been working with school districts and tribes in circle work. From restorative to relational circles and how to build healthy relationship of safety and support. There is good traction and relationship development in coordination with existing mental health programs within OPI along with our community resources.
Youth Leadership
Alicia Doney, Tribal Youth Coordinator at alicia.doney@mt.gov
Anna Marsicano, AmeriCorps Planning Grant Coordinator at anna.marsicano@mt.gov.
To register please click here.
American Indian Student Achievement
The American Indian Student Achievement Unit is settling nicely into their new home within the (newly renamed) Tribal Student Achievement, Relations, & Resiliency Unit. We are currently gearing up to present the Boarding School Curriculum Implementation Workshop at the Indian Education for All Best Practices Conference in Helena on 3/17. In addition, work is currently being completed on restorative practices implementation, curriculum development, professional development, infusing curriculum into culture, and youth voice. Our next Montana Advisory Council on Indian Education (MACIE) meeting will be held in-person in Billings on April 4th, location TBA. We hope to see as many Tribal Leaders and Youth as possible at our Tribal Nation Education Summit and Youth Conference in Billings on 4/5 and 4/6.
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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