Indigenous Gathering Is a Call to Action and Healing
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Beginning at 7:30 a.m. with coffee and donuts on March 18 and concluding at 5:00 p.m. on March 19, the Little River Institute at MSU-Northern will be hosting an Indigenous Gathering in the Student Union Ballroom (SUB) on the campus in Havre. The Gathering is a call to action for all educators and leaders—including youth—throughout Indian country to share the work of reconnecting American Indian youth to their ancestral roots so that they can flourish.
The event is the collaborative effort of the Little River Institute (LRI), the Montana Department of Health and Human Servies, and the American Indian Student Acheivement Division at the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI). The three entities hope to facilitate meaningful discussions with a common goal in mind: improvement.
Flyers for the event describe how indigenous student data on achievement, graduation, drop-out, behavior, and attendace all too often present a narrative that does not match the resilience of Montana’s indigenous youth. Similarly, statistics about suicide, addiction, and crime rates do not tell the story of the strength that is embedded in indigenous knowledge and value systems.
Wednesday’s keynote speaker will be Lona Running Wolf, a teacher at Browning Public Schools, who will share her thoughts about Reconnecting Our Roots. One way she fosters those connections is by teaching Blackfeet language classes.
Running Wolf’s keynote will be followed by another by Michelle Mitchell who will speak about Educational Sovereignty. Mitchell, who is Montana’s American Indian Student Achievement Unit Director at OPI, will address approaches to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ESSA requires that state and local education agencies consult with tribes on education plans affecting American Indian students. Rather than schools’ compiling their own information on Indian Education and presenting it to tribal governments to fulfill the ESSA requirement, Mitchell proposes that we set a new standard for what consultation looks like—more consulting and less presenting.
Other agenda items on Wednesday will include two breakout sessions, one before lunch and one after. At 10:00 a.m., those attending the Gathering will have four choices: Language and Culture Integration in the Classroom and School with Pat Armstrong Junior and Toni Tatsey; Restorative Practices—Moving from the Punitive to the Restorative in Schools with Heidi Deroche; Indigenous PAX—Reversing the Effects of Historical Trauma with Dr. Dennis Embry and Claire Richardson; and Indigenous Montana Behavioral Initiative—Incorporating Cultural Practices into the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).
During Breakout Session Two, four speakers will again give participants choices: Michelle Mitchell will present on Tribal and District Partnership—True Tribal Consultation; Leo Davis, Tim Heidebrech, and Claire Richardson will share a session on Indigenous Youth Leadership and PAX Dream Makers; Lona Running Wolf will speak on Combining Indigenous and Western Pedagogies to Promote Indigenous Student Success; and Marilyn Zimmerman will lead a workshop called Trauma Goggles.
Day One will also feature youth presentations by the Montana Indigenous Youth Leadership and Dream Makers teams. At day’s end, using a panel style approach, all presenters will take questions from the group.
On March 19, the second day of the Gathering, after coffee and donuts, Keynote Speaker Wendy Bremner will address the audience about protecting our children, claiming we all share in this obligation to protect. Following her inspirational message, Bremner will lead a breakout session entitled Protecting the Child—Children Come First in All Decision-making.
Additional topics in Breakout Session One on Thursday will be Language and Culture in Full Immersion Schools by Charles Kennedy and Jesse Desrosier; Wrapping Around Our Communities to Prevent Suicide by Stephanie Iron Shooter and Christine Jackson; and Culturally Responsive Counselling for Indigenous Students with Kishey Baker.
Breakout Session Two will feature four more topics: Empowering Our Youth—They Can Lead the Change with Donald Wetzel, Junior; Leadership in Districts to Support Cultural Inclusion by Mike Tatsey and Reyna Monteau; Dream Makers and Indigenous PAX Communities led by Daniel Carrillo and Jayenell Lee; and Engaging Indigenous Youth with Mia Lamebull Nepoose.
After lunch, the day’s presenters will again sit on a panel and take questions from those gathered. Following a short break, the entire group will collaborate in a planning session to develop a plan of action for Reconnecting Roots in Indigenous Communities.
Working from the premise that “in working together, we can achieve anything,” this Gathering—with its guest speakers and its opportunities for conversation—plans to create the space to learn from each other on how we can begin to heal from within.
Those interested in the Gathering are asked to verify their attendance by registering at https://forms.gle/MkAE6DYWpiZ2k5uq5 or by contacting Lona Running Wolf at lona.runningwolf@mt.gov.
Event organizers are asking tribes to invite educators, tribal leaders, youth, elders, and any other entity representatives that will assist in collaborating on a community/school healing plan. Those wishing to receive renewal units for their participation in the Gathering can earn fourteen continuing education units (CEUs) through OPI.
A block of rooms has been reserved at AmericInn (406-395-5000) and another at Best Western Havre Inn and Suites (406-265-2888) in Havre for March 17, 18, and 19 under Indigienous Gathering.
Individuals with questions about the Gathering are encouraged to contact Erica McKeon-Hanson, Director of the LRI, by phone (406-265-3713) or email (erica.mckeonhanson@msun.edu). The LRI was established in 2015 through the Native American Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTI) Program of the U.S. Department of Education.
