Chris La Tray and Speakers in the Schools

Monday morning, I wrote that Humanities Montana was canceling the Speakers in the Schools program because the National Endowment for the Humanities had zeroed out its general operating grant. I immediately heard from Montana poet laureate Chris La Tray, who said he planned on continuing presenting across the state despite these cuts.

Chris has two programs: Montana's Poet Laureate and The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians: Métis Buffalo Hunters of the Northern Plains. 

If your school has IEFA money available, you can use it to fund his appearance, and he is happy to help you with the logistics and reporting. This is also an option if you want to bring in other Native speakers, including ones who have been working through Humanities Montana. (Chris said he'd be happy to walk you through the paperwork for other Native speakers as well.) They include:

• Louise Ogemahgeship Fischer, Living with the Land
• Franco Littlelight, Song of the Dawn Priests: A History of the Crow People
• Lanny Real Bird: Plains Indian Sign Language--Indigenous Language Acquisition Method and History 
• Lailani Upham, Connecting to Land Through an Indigenous Lens and Storytelling: The Power to Connect Our World
• Carrie Lynn Bear Chief and Lailani Upham, Documenting Sasquatch: An Indigenous Storytelling Journey
• Aspen and Cameron Decker, Our Belongings: Sqelixʷ ‘Salish’ Art and Toolmaking and Sqelixʷ ‘Salish’ Storytelling
• Buck Hitswithastick (Morigeau), Bridging the Worlds and Legacy Reclaimed: Honoring Montana’s Indigenous Narrative and Sovereignty
• Harry Rock Above, Crow Stories in Both Crow and English Languages

Chris is also actively pursuing alternative funding, so even if you don't have IEFA money available, if you want to bring him to your school, contact him and he will see what he can do. 

P.S. My coworker Melissa Hibbard wants to add that Louise Ogemahgeship Fischer, Lanny Real Bird, and Lailani Upham spoke at regional History Day competitions this February and she highly recommends all of them.

P.P.S. You can track any new developments in NEH (and Montana Humanities) funding at the Federation of State Humanities Councils website.