MIEA Board of Directors 2010-2011

Luanne Kicking Woman is a Family Advocate/Housing Counselor with WORD’s Family BASCIS (Building a Supportive Integrated Community in Schools) program. For ten years Luanne has served in a dual capacity, as a school district employee/WORD family Advocate serving as a home/school liaison primarily for homeless and at-risk families. It is a nice collaboration between a local non-profit and a LEA (local school district). Luanne works tirelessly to strengthen and support families with children in Missoula County Public Schools, but particularly works with many American Indian/Title VII families. She is an enrolled member of the Assiniboine tribe. As a mother of five sons and a foster parent for many children, she has wonderful insight into the barriers and issues that so many of us face as we negotiate our relationships as advocates for our children, as concerned and loving parents. She also understands issues from the school/institution perspective. Luanne has facilitated numerous parent workshops, planned round dances and school pow wows, coordinated middle and high school Indian Clubs, and helped with student and parent forums, and parent advisory groups. She is also trained in Parents As Teachers, Mending the Scared Hoop, Native American Parenting, and Families and Schools Together.

Joe lives in Heart Butte and is a member of the Blackfeet Tribe. Joe has been married for 26 years has three boys and three grandchildren. Joe has been involved in Indian Education all his adult life, as an employee at Browning Elementary, University of Montana, Blackfeet Community College (BCC) and Heart Butte School. He served on the BCC Board as a Student Representative and a number of years as a Trustee and one year as the Chairman. He just finished a term on the Heart Butte School Board. Joe was the Title VII Director at Heart Butte until he was injured. He is semi-retired as he puts it, but does some consulting work with communities and parents. He did retire from coaching after twelve years at Heart Butte but is still an active arm chair coach. He has been a MIEA Board member since 2004. The reason he serves as a Director is that he feels MIEA has become a very reputable and effective advocate for Indian Education.

Norma is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and is the Director of the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Education Department at Lame Deer, Montana. She has been the Director for 25 years. Norma graduated from Eastern Montana College in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Early Childhood. She received her Masters Degree in Elementary Administration from New Mexico State University in 1980. Norma’s background in education includes being a classroom aide at Busby School and St. Labre Indian School, Title IV Director, Curriculum Specialist, 4th grade classroom teaacher and a Principal. Norma was instrumental in obtaining a high school on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. She served in the Montana State Legislature beginning in 2000 and represented House District 41 until her term ended in 2008. Norma was Educator of Year in 2007 for the Montana Indian Education Association. She has been actively involved on many committees at the state and national level addressing education, the environment and civil rights. Norma was the chair of the Montana Committee on Civil Rights and is currently the chair of the Montana Advisory Council for Indian Education. She is the mother of 4 children and has numerous grand children and great grandchildren and is currently raising her grandson, Hooper.

Sandra is currently the Director, Indian Education for the Great Falls Public School District. Sandra has been married for 20 years, has 4 children and 8 grandchildren. She is an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. Sandra received her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Montana in 1982, her M.Ed. in Adult and Higher Education from Montana State University in 1991 and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Education Leadership at the University of Montana working on her dissertation which is focusing on American Indian academic achievement gap and access issues. She is currently licensed by the State of Montana Office of Public Instruction as a Class 2 certified teacher with endorsements in History/Political Science and Sociology. Sandra has been a professional educator/administrator for approximately 30 years. Her professional experience focuses on access and equity issues for American Indian students and families in the area of education. Ms. Boham is committed to working to increase the American Indian student graduation rate, create pathways for college-going, and improve the culture and climate of the schools American Indian students attend.

Corri Smith is an American Indian Academic Achievement Specialist with the Great Falls Public Schools, and works with staff and students in grades PreK-12. She has been teaching for 20 years and received her Bachelors of Science Degree in Elementary Education at the University of Great Falls and her Masters Degree in Educational Administration from MSU-Bozeman. She holds Special Education and Reading endorsements. Corri is currently a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership at the University of Montana. In addition, Corri is a MEA-MFT representative of the Montana Advisory Council for Indian Education. She is the 2009-2010 MIEA Montana Indian Educator of the Year. Like her father, she is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Band in Belcourt, ND. Her mother is an enrolled member of the Sioux Nation, in Fort Totten, ND.

Kade Falls Down, “Itche Aashe Heeshe” (Comes Home Safely), is an enrolled member of the Apsaalooke (Crow) Nation. He currently resides in Pryor, Montana and is a senior at Billings Senior High School. At Senior he is Student Body Treasurer, President of Native American Club, Captain of the Debate Team, Treasurer of Business Professionals of America, Executive Editor of the Bronc Express (school newspaper) and the Bronc Annual (school yearbook) and actively participates in various community services through his school. He is also the Student Representative to Billings School District Two’s Indian Parent Advisory Committee (IPAC). He really likes to travel around both Montana and the United States and also studied abroad in China for three weeks in the summer of 2009. After high school, he plans to attend a university majoring in Engineering and continue his advocacy in improving education in Montana and around the United States. He is very proud to serve on the MIEA Board of Directors.

Michelle Mitchell is an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on the Flathead Indian Reservation. She has two daughters ages 20 and 11. She is currently the technology specialist for the Kootenai Culture Committee Language Program in Elmo. Michelle graduated with her Bachelor's Degree in Business Management with an emphasis in IT from the University of Montana and earned a Master's Degree in Education Technology from California State University, Hayward in 2004.
Michelle first began working in the field of Indian Education as the Family Resource Specialist for Polson Public School District. In this position she assisted Indian families by bridging the gap between home and school. This was a perfect starting point to build relationships with both Indian families and school district personnel. During this time she also served as chair of the Indian Education Committee for Polson, an elected position for the Indian parents in the school district. Michelle was also a key member of the Indian Education for All Committee, a key group of teachers and administrators who determine IEFA needs for the Polson school district and how to best serve those needs. In this role, Michelle had many opportunities to make connections between the Indian community and the school district, connections that remain after her departure from the school district. Michelle left the schools to begin working in Indian Education full-time. She has worked on several projects to promote tribal history from a tribal perspective. The first of which is the Salish Kootenai College's Tribal History Project, which she continues to do contract work for today. She has also collaborated with several tribal entities including the Salish Pend d'Oreille Culture Committee, the Kootenai Culture Committee, SPCC Elder's Advisory Committee and Nkwusm - Salish Language Institute to create children's books, CD's, maps, brochures, business cards, posters, logos, flyers and business signs.
Michelle knows the key to successful implementation of Indian Education is building relationships.