3: Welcoming Routines and the Indigenous Morning Greetings Project

The Creating Conditions podcast is brought to you by the Indian Education team at the Office of Public Instruction. 

Welcoming routines, typically carried out in the morning or other times of transition, are routine, welcoming activities that bring warmth and predictability to a student's school day. Welcoming routines help students feel safe and connected to school and prepares students for learning. In this episode we explore welcoming routines and specifically explore a project being stewarded at the Office of Public Instruction, the Indigenous Morning Greetings project. 

The Indigenous Morning Greetings project offers weekly, recorded messages to help Montana students and staff start each week in a good way. These messages provide a warm welcome and words of encouragement through an Indigenous worldview. Messages often include words or phrases in an Indigenous language and offer guidance to help students and staff live well. Each greeting is also paired with prompts for talking circles or reflective writing to allow students and staff to personalize and internalize the messages that are shared. All schools are welcome to utilize these messages. 

If you are interested in receiving the OPI's Indigenous Morning Greetings, please reaching out to Michele Henson (michele.henson@mt.gov) or visit: https://opi.mt.gov/Educators/Teaching-Learning/Indian-Education-for-All/Indian-Student-Achievement

For more information about the work taking place with the Tribal Student Student Achievement and Relations unit, please visit our website: opi.mt.gov/weareone