Culture is a big component of the education systems on the Crow Reservation in Montana.

Leroy Not Afraid, the chairman of the Lodge Grass School Board, said culture and education go hand in hand. "I know there is such a thing as separation of church and state, but you can't separate that from an Indian child. That is their way of life," he told The Billings Gazette.

Frances Alden, a fifth-grade teacher at Lodge Grass for 24 years, begins every school year by going over the Crow clan system. She sometimes gives instructions in Crow when English won't do the job.

"They all buckle down," she said of the students. "They know."

Get the Story:
Parents like emphasis on cultural identity at reservation schools (The Billings Gazette 8/23)
Cultural education key for students at Lodge Grass (The Billings Gazette 8/23)

Relevant Links:
Big Horn Teacher Projects - http://www.msubillings.edu/bighornteacherproj
Montana Indian Education Association - http://www.mtiea.org
Montana Office of Public Instruction - http://www.opi.state.mt.us

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