Oki,
Our team has been very busy preparing for our upcoming Tribal Nation Education Summit and Youth Leadership Conference. Check out below for more specifics. We are working towards relationship development and youth-centered approach for our school and communities. By bringing the two entities of impact for the youth in our communities together, the Tribal Nation and the Districts, we hope to create a direction of pride, strength, and care together in supporting the educational journeys of our students. Our Knowledge Keepers of Indigenous Nations will be supporting our efforts as they hold great respect and knowledge. Much of what we have been doing for the past 40 years hasn't been very effective in our tribal communities and with our tribal youth. We are working towards a new direction. This is a springboard for the work and we'll do our best to listen to our tribes, knowledge keepers, staff, and youth. Check out our agenda and logos below.
 
Language and Culture
Amba Daya everyone!
Happy Spring! In Nakoda, The month of April is known as Tabehatawi* (Frog’s Moon). We hope you’re getting back outside and hearing some of the wildlife that follows.
We’ve been visiting with many dedicated educators and knowledge keepers this month who have helped us set our goals and expand our understanding of what quality education can be. In addition to our KKIN group meeting to formalize their foundation, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting with immersion school teachers specializing in the Salish language. In addition to the immersion in languages, students immersed in cultural projects are deeply engaged in learning that truly extends beyond to lifelong learning. The ability to feel and smell the projects from students are great ways to excite all senses for learners and create pathways that lead to greater retention of information.
We’re gearing up for the Tribal Leaders and Youth summit in Billings this year. Youth from across Montana will meet with their peers and community leaders. We hope to provide some resources for all students to engage in more understanding of their home and neighboring tribal communities. Our students have a lot of traditional and contemporary talents, skills and interests that we hope to celebrate. In turn, we hope our educators help keep this spirit of celebrating our youth on their journey and can keep our students sustained through the year
Thank you (Pinamaya) and have a good day!
Matt Bell
matthew.bell@mt.gov
Mental Health and Wellness
Youth Leadership
The TSARR unit will be having our State-Wide Youth Conference & Tribal Leaders Summit April 4th-6th at MSU Billings. Our virtual youth leadership group called RISE has planned the whole youth conference! The theme of the conference was also chosen by our RISE group. It is “RISE Up, Speak Out- They Did Their Part, Now It’s Our Turn.” RISE voted and decided that that was the most powerful theme to have this year! We also had two youth leaders from Arlee and Hardin High school draw out our conference logo (logo will be attached). Our youth are truly the best! Our RISE group wanted to find ways to connect with other urban and tribal youth across the state of Montana. They have planned to set up tipi lodges on the campus, have lessons from KKIN, a gala event, stick game tournament and more! This all helps
the youth build lifelong friendships, confidence and connections. It also helps our youth become a little bit closer to their culture if they don’t have the opportunity to at home. Our youth conference builds leadership skills, connects our youth with our KKIN & tribal leaders, and provides many opportunities for the youth voice to be heard when oftentimes it’s not. Our youth leaders are super excited for the conference and are eager to show their talents! Whether that be with their
media skills, our 3on3 basketball tournament, public speaking, or showing their amazing leadership skills! We will also be uniting the students with the Tribal Leaders, District Leaders, our Staff and many more as we work to bring a focus to our them and their success.
Alicia Doney, Tribal Youth Coordinator at alicia.doney@mt.gov
Anna Marsicano, AmeriCorps Planning Grant Coordinator at anna.marsicano@mt.gov.
 
Tribal Student Achievement
Tribal Student Achievement is fitting in nicely and we will be hiring another Specialist soon. Morgan Smith has restructured the AISA taskforce and is creating great conversation, collaboration, and progress. Stay tuned as there is much more to come.
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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