Larry Colton, author of "Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn" is conducting a conversation workshop on Thursday.

Colton, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, was a major league baseball player. His background is largely based around teaching and he founded two nonprofit programs: Community of Writers, with the goal of improving writing instruction and student achievement in Oregon schools and Wordstock, a book festival in Portland.

Colton, along with a panel of Montana American Indian educators will discuss many topics such as the importance of basketball for Montana American Indians, the need for heroes and the vision of Indian Education for All.

Panelists include Reno Charette, the governor's state coordinator for Indian Affairs; and Joe Anderson, Helena High School teacher; with Denise Juneau, Office of Public Instruction's director of Indian Education, serving as facilitator.

Charette is a member of the Crow Tribe and was project director for the Big Horn Teacher Projects that includes four federally funded teacher education grants.

Anderson teaches English and Native American Literature at HHS and is a member of the Blackfeet Tribe. He initiated the Native American Mentoring Program, which pairs high school American Indian students with American Indian children in Helena.

Juneau is a former high school teacher from the Fort Berthold and Blackfeet reservations. She has served as an Indian Education specialist with OPI and most recently completed law school at the University of Montana

This event is free and open to the public and will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at Carroll College in the Rice Room.

For more information call the Helena Education Foundation at 443-2545 or visit the Web site at www.helenaedfoundation.org.