Americorps

Grant funds writing residencies in seven Lake County schools

By Taylor Davison

Valley Journal

FLATHEAD RESERVATION — The Young Voices of the Mission Mountains, a creative writing residency program for Salish and Kootenai students, has just received $30,000 in funding through a Grant for Arts Project award.

Orchestrated by the Missoula Writing Collaborative, the grant will fund the payroll and travel for 12-week writing residencies in seven schools on the Flathead Indian Reservation: Arlee, Charlo, Dixon, K. William Harvey, Pablo, Ronan, and St. Ignatius.

Started in 2019, the residency allows authors from the Collaborative to visit primarily fourth and fifth grade classrooms once per week to teach poetry and art with a strong Native American emphasis. Held online during much of the pandemic, this year the writers will be allowed to return to schools.

These hour-long visits are broken into three 20-minute sessions: First, the children are taught a poem that they can use as a model, typically from Native American authors such as elder Vic Charlo. Then, the kids are asked to write a poem of their own based on that prompt. Finally, each child gets to read their work aloud.

“What’s really great is they get a lot in that hour. They get exposed to poetic literature and they’re able to write about their lives,” said Missoula Writing Collaborative Executive Director Caroline Patterson. “They’re able to read what they write and listen to other kids read what they wrote, so the kids inspire each other too … it makes them see each other differently.”

Students will be introduced to ekphrastic poetry, also known as poetry responding to art, inspired by the work of Native American artists such as Corwin “Corky” Clairmont and Jaune Quick-to-See, both accomplished artists belonging to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation.

Other Native American types of poetry will also be taught, including form poetry (odes and letter poems) and free verse (poems about imagination, memory, and places). The variety is important, as Patterson explained, “Different kids respond to different prompts.”

Additionally, students will engage in creating ledger art, a narrative drawing or painting on paper or cloth. Thanks to storyteller Aspen Decker, students will hear stories told in Salish, learn some Plains sign language, and make up their own stories and poems along with creating their ledger art.

At the end of the 12 weeks, the writer assigned to the school will produce an anthology of poems for those students, allowing every student to see their writing in print that they will be able to keep. Finally, a reading is held, which parents can attend, though during the pandemic these readings have typically been filmed instead of allowing a live audience.

Beyond connecting with art, the program forges a connection between the writers and students as well. Writers return to the same schools each year, and according to Patterson, students are excited to know they will have that writer to work with as they go into the next grade.

Writer Caroline Keys, who has worked with Arlee and Pablo elementary schools for several years, was shown that enthusiasm in last year’s reading.

“The kids were so excited to see her in person,” Patterson laughed. “They just wanted to share everything they’d written for her.”

Ultimately, Patterson explained, the program not only fosters a connection to Native American art but provides a crucial outlet for kids during a difficult time in the world.

“It’s amazing how little kids are able to express what they feel,” Patterson stated. “(The program) is really great. It helps kids, especially during the pandemic, when kids are struggling with isolation and their social and emotional health. It helps them to express whatever, whether they’re happy, or sad, or lonely ... It’s really important to get that out.”

PHOTO BY CAROLINE PATTERSON Students working on ledger art at St. Ignatius elementary school.

PHOTO BY CAROLINE PATTERSON A young poet at St. Ignatius elementary school reads his poetry with a Missoula Writing Collaborative author.

from page 6

and Clark Caverns State Park. First, I had to receive training in Helena. Old Crusty broke down as the sky was spitting snow on Rogers Pass and I rode in the cab with a tow truck driver to a garage in Helena, where we arrived at midnight. The bays that were covered with photographs of naked women and the mechanic gave me the heebie jeebies so badly that I clung to the pistol in my purse as I signed paperwork.

Old Crusty broke down two weeks later as I was heading over Rogers Pass again. This time I called a tow truck from Whitehall. I rode in the cab of the tow truck this time with a white-haired man who offered hot chocolate and had calendars quoting Scripture on the walls. He said he could put me in touch with local church folk who could get me a cot at the local parish if I needed it. I declined and slept in my car for the next couple of weeks while he fixed the motorhome. When he finished, he was livid: the garage in Helena had taken nearly $1,000 for something he would have charged $300 for, including the tow. They had taken me for a ride, and he was willing to go up there and give them a piece of his mind and get my money back. I demurred, and I parked my motorhome on a city lot for $100 a month. The electricity didn’t work in Old Crusty, and temperatures ranged between 10 and 103 while I was there, so I learned to bundle up or strip down accordingly.

I settled into the dysfunctional motorhome and a new routine in Whitehall. I gave tours, scrubbed the latrine, and helped save an injured bat, injured owl, and wayward 5-foot-long bull snake caught in a parking lot. My specialty was a tour for the elderly and disabled, carefully helping those with wheelchairs and other special aids into the cave. I was hugged by 90-year-old grandmas and 8-year-olds alike. In our group activities, we pulled acres of invasive species, paddled and pulled trash from a lake, drove transport vans at Bannack Days, installed signage, and more. In August, a week before the end of my term of service, I got sick, and needed a blood transfusion for a pre-existing condition, and the 100-degree heat in the motorhome was stifling. I was hospitalized for dehydration one of those last weekends after working in the sun and staying in the motorhome, as sweat seemed to leave my body nearly as quickly as I could drink water. It still was one of the most meaningful summers of my life, even if the monetary payoff was small and the toll on my body was a lot. Given the hours, my pay after stipends and education awards hovered somewhere just above $3 an hour. I had debt from the hospital visit in the thousands of dollars. I eventually paid them off and looking back, I’m satisfied that I gave a little bit of my time and my life to contribute something to this great country. It was worth every second, every challenge, every penny.

During my time in Montana, I have spent many hours with other AmeriCorps members, and many have struggled with finding affordable housing. According to AmeriCorps, more than 3,500 members served in Montana last year at more than 500 locations. Their service is estimated to have generated $4.1 million in outside resources from businesses, foundations, public agencies, and other sources in Montana. Their work extends far beyond state parks, and in the past year has included helping communities and families impacted by COVID-19, reducing crime and reviving cities, connecting veterans to services, fighting the opioid epidemic, helping seniors live independently, and rebuilding communities after disasters, according to the organization’s website. Yet many struggle to find housing themselves, and even more so as housing prices have catapulted sky high in the past year. People making $12 an hour struggle to find housing, much less service members on a much smaller AmeriCorps stipend.

Some AmeriCorps groups are now working to find families and individuals who will host members, including the Montana Conservation Corps. MCC members have one of the more physically strenuous positions of all service members in Montana. They hike miles into the wilderness for weeks at a time, carrying crosscut saws and Pulaskis, and do things like creating or clearing trail in the backcountry of public lands. Every year they complete more than 400,000 hours of service, the equivalent of 200 full-time jobs.

This year they have several projects planned for western Montana.

“We expect significant trail maintenance work on the Plains district of the Lolo NF, as well as some state park facilities, trails, signage work in the units around Flathead Lake, and some tree planting, campground and trail maintenance in the Swan Valley for the Flathead NF,” Regional Director for MCC Northern Rockies Clifford Kipp said. “We haven’t heard for sure yet, but we have a long history of doing a week or two of facilities, wildlife monitoring and weeds mitigation work on the Bison Range, so it’d be reasonable to assume we’d do more of that work again this season. We also have a regional office in Missoula, which also serves the Lolo and will be doing a ton of trail work in the Rattlesnake.”

According to MCC, a survey of members shows 28% of members live out of their vehicles during service. According to Bobby Grillo, MCC Conservation Corps Director, 45 hosts have signed up this year to host corps members, who are often only home four to five days per month. MCC asks that hosts offer their living spaces for up to 25 percent of their AmeriCorps.

“We hope host families will consider this rate as a contribution to the MCC member’s experience,” the program’s website states. “These members give up a lot to serve in Montana

AmeriCorps members gather around a fire in April 2017, Seeley Lake.

PHOTO BY M.S. SACRY

“I do believe affordable housing was something my fellow members struggled with.”

- Former AmeriCorps member Nicki Jimenez

see page 11

News from MSU News Service

BOZEMAN — Montana State University has announced its undergraduate honor rolls for fall semester 2021.

There are two MSU honor roll lists: the President’s List and the Dean’s List. To be eligible for the lists, students must be enrolled in at least 12 college-level credits. This honor roll list was current as of Jan. 14 and includes all registration corrections or grade changes processed to that date.

The students with a perfect 4.0 grade point average for the semester were named to the President’s List. An asterisk (*) follows their names below.

The Dean’s List includes the students earning grade point averages of 3.5 or above for the semester.

Students named to MSU’s president’s or dean’s lists, ordered according to their hometowns, follow:

Arlee: Granger Eichhorn, Margaret Shinn*, Shelby Smith*, Kylee Wells

Charlo: Cody Heirendt*, Aislynn Love*

Elmo: Christy Teska

Polson: Elizabeth Ayers, Nina Barfoot, Keyan Dalbey, Allison Dotson, Mikaela Ducharme, Payton Dupuis, Mollie Fisher, Briala Forman-Bisson*, Emiliano Hernandez*, Ashlee Howell*, Sutton Kanta, Connor Lanier, Shea McGuinness, Collin McGuyer, Mesa McKee*, Makauly Morrison*, Brianna Repnak*, Sarah Scharff, Kyra Spencer*, Madison Straub, Alex Wall, Chloe Zuraff

Ronan: Beau Baer, Daden Collicott*, Bailee Delaurenti, Kiry Detwiler, Caleb Dotson, Alexa Greene, Samuel Mocabee, Kassidy Rubel

St. Ignatius: Allison Delaney*, Brooklin Hunt*, Leila Marsh, Keana Thomas

For students who have a question about their standing on the honor roll lists, contact the registrar’s office at 406-994-6650 or registrar@montana. edu.

Infrastructure Advisory Commission to meet

News from DNRC

MONTANA — The American Rescue Plan Act Advisory Commission will meet on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, at 1 p.m. in the Capitol Building, room 303, to review Minimum Allocation Grants and receive updates on: Treasury Coronavirus SLFRF; Overview of Final Rule; Regional Water Authorities; Department of Administration State Capital project 604 Applications; ARPA Water & Sewer Grant activities.

The public is invited to view the livestreamed meeting online at: https://leg. mt.gov/audio-video/ by clicking on the “Streaming For Today” button. Please submit requests for Zoom information to view the meeting by noon on Jan. 26 via email: to dnrarpa@mt.gov.

Public comments or letters of support regarding a specific project application can be e-mailed to: dnrarpa@ mt.gov or submitted in the Public Comment Form at:

https://arpa-mtdnrc. hub.arcgis.com/pages/ commission-meetings.

The Infrastructure Advisory Commission is responsible for the review of applications for water and sewer grants and state capital projects using ARPA funds. Commission members must certify that the projects are necessary investments in water and sewer infrastructure, or a qualifying capital project as defined in ARPA. Their recommendations are submitted to the governor for consideration.