Tribal Student Achievement and Relations

American Indian Student Achievement

Indigenous Morning Greetings Project

The Tribal Student Achievement and Relations (TSAR) unit is pleased to launch the Indigenous Morning Greetings Project for the 2024/2025 school year. These Morning Greetings will feature messages from American Indian Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and influential leaders from across Montana and are intended to be played at the beginning and end of the school week:

• Monday Greetings: These greetings will start the school week in a good way and provide a warm welcome to both students and school staff. Greetings will include messages of encouragement to students and school staff to learn new things and develop skills at school; greetings will also remind students and staff of their inherent value as people and their importance to the future.
• Thursday/Friday Greetings: These 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.

This project leverages the research around welcoming, inclusive activities and optimistic closures. According to CASEL (2019), 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 provide a sense of accomplishment, and motivate students and staff to continue learning (CASEL, 2019). This project also leverages the power of culture, language, and positive self-identity in American Indian students which can increase school attendance and academic success (WestEd, 2021). 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.

Please see an example of a Morning Greeting: Burt Medicine Bull Morning Greeting. All schools are welcome to participate in this project. If you would like to receive the greetings during the 2024/2025 school year, use this form to register and provide your name and contact information. You are also welcome to reach out to Michele Henson (406-595-1058) or Crystal Hickman (406-839-6734) for more information or to register to receive the greetings. 

Indigenous Whole Learner Relational Framework

The Indigenous Whole Learner Relational Framework (IWLRF) was developed to help educators, and those who support educators, understand the relational standpoint of indigenous youth and foster holistic student learning and support. Too often, our Indigenous youth are perceived from a standpoint of poverty, trauma, or other deficit-based, line-of-sight, perspectives. Through the study of the relational framework, educators might better navigate the cultural imperative of connectivity and identity that propels indigenous, and indeed all, students to achieve authentic learning. 

This framework was inspired by work being done across the nation and by indigenous educators past and present. None of these are new ideas and can be easily identified in any indigenous-based research. The framework does not suppose or promote a pan-Indian approach but attempts to acknowledge the unique perspectives of interconnectivity of common indigenous plains tribes, and beyond. The hope of the IWLRF is to support educators in gaining better knowledge of the tribal thought processes and worldview, gain insight into the importance of relationships in tribal cultures, and inspire educators to seek an understanding of the whole learner, indigenous approach to education. 

More information on the Indigenous Whole Learner Relational Framework can be found on the American Indian Student Achievement website. You are also welcome to reach out to Crystal Hickman (406-839-6734) for more information.

American Indian Student Achievement Gap Report

The American Indian Student Achievement Gap report will soon be available with the most recently available student achievement data and other pertinent school and academic-related data. In 2007, the Montana State Legislature passed Montana Code Annotated 20-9-330, appropriating $200 per American Indian child, totaling over $3 million dollars per year, to provide funding to school districts for the purpose of closing the educational achievement gap that exists between American Indian students and non-Indian students. According to MCA 20-9-330 (2) (a), funds are to be determined by “. . . using the number of American Indian students enrolled in the district based on the count of regularly enrolled students on the first Monday in October of the prior school year as reported to the office of public instruction,” and deposited into the district’s general fund. The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) prepares the American Indian Student Achievement Gap report to track the American Indian achievement gap and provide data on the Montana American Indian student population.  

Present within the 2023 American Indian Student Achievement Gap Report are areas of success and areas of continued need and continued exploration to develop a deeper understanding of the strengths and challenges associated with academic achievement. Behind the data presented in this report, the Tribal Student Achievement and Relations unit would like to acknowledge the work of all those who support Montana’s Indigenous students, academically and holistically, and acknowledge the students themselves, who we feel privileged and inspired to serve. 

For more information, please contact  Michele Henson (406-595-1058) or Crystal Hickman (406-839-6734). 

“To live in two worlds, to live in both worlds… they (Indigenous youth) have an advantage. They have the ability and they have the resources to walk in this world the way the ancestors have and to view today’s world from that perspective. But also, in school and in other educational opportunities, to be able to learn what the Western way thinks… the Western education system is thinking from one perspective. They have the ability to think in both.” -Vernon Finley, Kootenai Knowledge Keeper

Language and Culture

Amba wašte midaguyabi!

We hope you had a great Summer! We’ve been on the road visiting tribal representatives and cultural knowledge keepers as we work to empower more educators interested in language and culture resources. Many tribes have been conducting Summer camps and developing sharable experiences like card games to make Indian Education for All a year-round opportunity. If you are interested in adding additional language and culture resources, please feel free to reach out to the local tribes or contact our offices to explore or discuss resource opportunities.

We have also been focusing attention on the Achievement Gap report and diving into the data involved. We hope to be able to showcase the educational inputs that affect the experiences of our Indigenous students, including the overwhelmingly positive outcomes associated with having Native language speakers and teachers in the buildings.

We are also working on additional language and culture resources in coordination with language experts. We hope some of these videos and images find their way to your spaces soon.

We are looking forward to the upcoming conference opportunities including the Native Early Childhood Education Summit at Salish Kootenai College and the MFPE Educators Conference in October.

For a list of resources, please visit our website: https://opi.mt.gov/Educators/Teaching-Learning/Indian-Education/Language-and-Culture

Nina Pinamaya!

Matt Bell

Tribal Relations  "Honor your tribe by safeguarding your connections to your people" - Author Unknown Relationships are one of the single most important aspects of our work in the Tribal Student Achievement and Relations Unit. Connecting education, tribal communities, culture, history, and language is imperative to create successful, lifelong learners. It has been a busy summer with tribal relations and gearing up for another academic year! As mentioned by other team members, much of the summer has been devoted to several different reports related to engagement and improvement. The Montana American Indian Student Achievement Gap Report and the Montana Indian Languages Program report.  The unit hosted its first tribal consultation meeting with Indigenous leaders from across the state to dialogue about upcoming concerns, wants, and needs for their community schools during the coming school year as well as conversation around long-term goals and strategies to continue to increase Indian student achievement.  Tribal Student Achievement and Relations attended the Montana Advisory Council on Indian Education (MACIE) meeting. This is a collaboration with key stakeholders in Indian Country to "provide for more effective and meaningful participation by Indian people in planning, implementation, and administration of relevant educational services and programs under the authority of local school boards" (MACIE Mission Statement). Team members participated in a two-day training to better understand how literacy work can be achieved through best practices and building on the neuroscience behind learning. The Science of Reading will help support literacy work across Montana schools and in rural areas. The unit has also provided support this summer to those schools that are in Rigorous Action work, particularly those schools that are on/near reservations and in urban settings with an Indigenous student population/demographic.  Photo Credit: Northern Cheyenne Sundance - Dr. Brookney Beaverheart Gondara, Director, TSAR

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