Hi-Line Living: Native American Week

Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation and Montana State University-Northern have been celebrating Native American culture with various events as part of Native American week.

In Rocky Boy, the community was invited to attend a series of lectures on topics that included intergenerational trauma, the Cree language, suicide prevention, elder and child abuse, anti-bullying and grandparents raising grandchildren.

At the reservation, the events were kicked off with the annual diabetes walk starting at the old Stone Child College and the week will be wrapped up today with the Native American Day Community Parade this morning and the community round dance tonight at 7 at the old SCC gymnasium.

"It's been going pretty good," said Brian Molina Jr., the director of child support at Rocky Boy.

He said each day of the three-day conference has been well-attended. Each of the days had a different theme: culture, awareness and prevention and health.

Molina said as many as 50 to 60 people attended some of the lectures. Molina said they are going to try and organize another conference next year and make it an annual event for Native American Week.

The parade this morning was planned to run from the Lutheran church to the wellness center and sees a lot of spectators gathering to watch the floats, which there are normally over 20 of.

In addition to the events put on by the tribal offices, there have also been a human foosball tournament in which participants had to hold on to a bar and move together like the tabletop game, a badminton tournament, a poker walk, a singing contest and the Biggest Indian Contest.

The Biggest Indian Contest had five-member teams go through five challenges like hauling water, bringing in wood and putting a baby to sleep. The baby was played by a team member and the other teammates had to carry their "baby" to "bed."

"It's been a good week," Molina said.

At Montana State University-Northern, Cristina Estrada-Underwood, the director of diversity awareness and multicultural programs, and the Sweetgrass Society had also organized events to celebrate Native American culture.

She said they had a variety of activities for the students and community at the campus. The teepee raising, a lecture, music and a beadworking workshop were some of the events they organized.

"I think it was a great celebration, I really do," Estrada-Underwood said.

She said the beading workshop had students who were very into the art of beadwork and it lasted for a half-hour past its two-hour scheduled time.

"(The students) were so focused and dedicated," she said. " ... It's important to preserve the Native ways."

She said she is already looking forward to Native American Heritage Month in November, for which she had already made some plans, and Native American Week next year, and hopes she can get more students to come out to celebrations.