Tribal Youth and RISE Youth Leadership Conference
It has been such a successful month for the TSAR Unit. Especially when it comes to our Tribal Youth and RISE Youth Leadership Conference! We hosted our conference this month on April 3rd, and it went all the way into April 5th at the Missoula County Fair Grounds. The conference theme was “Reviving the Drive, To Keep Our Cultures Alive,” We had about 205 youth show up and represent their schools/ communities and tribes! It was amazing and a positive thing coming together to celebrate our Montana Tribal youth!
We had amazing keynote speakers such as Riley Werk (founder of RISE) and Phillip Whiteman Jr. They spoke to the youth about their journey in leadership and brought in such good energy! We, of course, had our 3on3 basketball tournament, stick game tournament, and music venue which rocked all evening at the Sentinel High School gym! The second day we connected our youth with the Knowledge Keepers of Indigenous Nations, and we had representatives from each reservation! The Knowledge Keepers talked about gender roles, the importance of Indian names, and the Indigenous worldview and way of being. We also had Julie Gavin from the CSI Team in OPI talk about the Tribal Board Game Development opportunity for schools! Lastly, we had Shadow Devereaux introduce his journey of being an Indigenous Hip Hop artist! We ended the second night with a beautiful Gala and Gala dinner with RISE Youth and School Awards being presented! On the last day, we all came together and talked about the problems we have in our schools and communities. We had the youth write mock letters to their School Boards or Tribal Councils to learn how to present change in the right way to our leaders in the schools and communities. We were also able to surprise each RISE school that attended the conference, with $500 mini-grants from the Headwaters Foundation to implement or bring in any change the youth wanted within their schools or communities! The 2024 RISE Youth Conference was such a big success and brought everyone together in a good way. Those are relationships and connections our youth will have forever!
Below are some quotes from the students themselves in response to this question from which the thematic responses were derived:
- something I took away from the summit and will use when I return home is that I want to do better as a native youth by being more expressive about being native and not being ashamed to be native but wearing it proudly and learning everything that I can.
- I will learn more about my tribe, language, and traditions so that when I am older, I can pass it down to the younger generation so our culture can stay alive.
- Some things I will take home are to always honor our culture and where we came from and be able to teach it to my little brother. I know now that I am able to advocate for myself and others so we will be able to come to RISE and be able to be in it.
- I will learn more about my tribe, language, and traditions so that when I am older, I can pass it down to the younger generation so our culture can stay alive.
- I will use what I’ve learned and enforce it into my daily lifestyle
2024 RISE Youth Leadership Conference
“Reviving the Drive, To Keep Our Cultures Alive”
(Not pictured Hays/ Lodgepole & Colstrip High School)
Indigenous Morning Greetings
Staff from the OPI are working with Knowledge Keepers and Indigenous language speakers to begin to offer schools morning greetings for the 2024/2025 school year. This project leverages the research around welcoming and inclusion activities and optimistic closures along with the power of culture, language, and forming positive self-identity to foster academic achievement. Research shows, welcoming and inclusion activities help build a feeling of connectedness to the school and can help prepare and motivate students and school staff for learning. Optimistic closures can reinforce the importance of what was learned, provide a sense of accomplishment, and motivate students and staff to continue learning. Through this project, all students will have the opportunity to hear diverse indigenous languages and experience the power and positive influences of Montana’s Indigenous people.
Monday greetings will start the school week in a good way and provide a warm welcome to both students and school staff. End-of-the-week greetings will provide an optimistic closure to the school week. These greetings will encourage students and staff to continue to learn and develop skills outside of school, provide an additional reminder of the value of students and staff, and encourage everyone to return to school next week.
For more information and to participate in this project, please contact us:
Language
Amba daya everyone!
We hope you are having a great Spring and excited to get outside! As the new life emerges, we invite you to consider the rich ethnobotany opportunities around Montana that can be brought to your schools!
The Montana Native Plant Society had recently provided a chance to learn about the critical plants of our diverse state and here are a few ideas to consider:
Oregon Grape: Found in lower foothills and rocky mountain slopes, the Kootenai and others utilized the roots and berries in teas for kidney troubles and as a dye.
Morel Mushrooms: Dakota people might refer to these as Nasuda cik’ada
Kinnikkinnick: An Algonquian word, often found frequently around Ponderosa pines (Look for Jennifer Stadum’s amazing new Ponderosa Pine lessons!) Many tribes used this particular plant as a tea for kidney function, as a paste for sores, or as an ingredient in traditional tobacco.
Bebb’s Willow: generally found around stream banks and moist ground from low elevations to alpine environments. Many tribes used this for stomach pains to dressing cuts. The limbs have been used for numerous craftware and other life necessities. Many tribes honor this plant as very sacred and integral to ceremonies
In addition to studying from afar, there are resources in the state to purchase seeds for these critical plants. There are also critical habit issues facing these plants that would provide great hands on/place based opportunities for Indian Education for All.
Pinamaya and happy gardening!
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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