Indian education for all; Montana leads the way as public schools begin to teach the cultures and histories of local Tribes.(FEATURE)

MARGARET PETTY'S CLASSROOM is on the first floor of the Lewis and Clark School in Missoula, Montana. Down the hall, a map covers the entire wall showing the state's seven Indian reservations, hand-drawn, with photos of members from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The tribal members are partnering with the school under a new program to highlight Native-American history and teachings in school curricula.

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The map is a sign that Montana is finally starting to shift its education policies.

Although the state made a promise in its constitution in 1972 to help preserve the cultural integrity of Native-American tribes through public schools, it never followed through with funding. The Montana Supreme Court declared in 2005 that this was unconstitutional and the state legislature and governor subsequently approved $14.4 million in education funding.

Part of the money was used for a new program, Indian Education for All, which gives public schools grants to develop curriculum and funds tribal colleges to create written histories of their tribes. At elementary schools like Lewis and Clark, the funding means that some students now learn the days of the week and months of the year in Salish, the language of one of the tribes in western Montana. There are 11 tribal languages recognized by the state and about 10 percent of public school students are tribal members.

Denise Juneau, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe and head of Montana's Office of Public Instruction, has spent the past three years implementing the Indian education mandate. "Over the past three years, we've developed tons of resources and materials. This year we're doing a full-court press on professional development. Once the teachers start to learn [what] we've got for them, it's an easy sell."

One lesson plan involves teaching mathematical probabilities through traditional Native hand games in which one team passes sticks from hand to hand while the other team tries to guess where they are. Other materials offer background information for teachers on subjects like world language, science and history from a Native perspective. Juneau's staff makes sure Indian-education materials get integrated into statewide content when it's revised.