HELENA -- Joe McDonald taught in Montana's public schools for 20 years and said he rarely came across a reference to the state's American Indian people in textbooks and coursework.

From Oilmont to Plevna, McDonald said his Indian students rarely encountered anyone like them in their history books. He said the state's native people were largely overlooked.

"It's not direct prejudice by the school or the teacher," said McDonald, now president of the Salish-Kootenai College on the Flathead Reservation. "You're just omitted. There's no reference to you. You don't exist."

But the historical perspective he said has been promulgated by Montana's public schools is about to change. Gov. Brian Schweitzer and the 2005 Legislature have set aside $4.4 million so all Montana's public school children can learn about the state's first people.

The money in itself is historic. This is the first time since the state constitution went into effect 32 years ago that the government has sincerely tried to make good on the provision that guarantees an education on the state's Indians to all students.

Past Legislatures have repeatedly killed measures that would have funded Indian Education For All. But after the Montana Supreme Court last year found the state "defenseless" against charges that it hasn't done enough to implement Indian Education For All, the 2005 Legislature and Schweitzer set enough money aside to turn the constitutional promise into a reality, state officials said.

"This is the first time where there's been some real money put behind the constitutional promise," said Rep. Carol Juneau, D-Browning, chairwoman of the Montana Indian Education Association. "Hard resources -- that's what it takes."

Juneau, a member of the Mandan-Hidatsa tribes from North Dakota, has been a tireless advocate for Indian Education For All. Initially, she tried to convince her fellow lawmakers that the program needed $23 million over the next two years. But she said she's happy with $4.4 million.

"These next two years hold a lot of promise for Indian Education For All," said Juneau, who married a Blackfeet man and lives on their reservation in northwestern Montana.

Tribal histories

The state is disbursing a total of $1 million to the state's seven tribal colleges for written histories of their tribes. Each of the state's seven tribes has a tribal college, and their histories are an integral part of the Indian Education For All Program, officials said.

The Little Shell People from the Great Falls area, a tribe without land, a college or federal recognition, will also be included in the history project, Juneau said. While some tribes like the Salish already have written their histories, the texts must be rewritten for the school-age audience. Others, like the Kootenai tribe, will be undertaking the task for the first time.

"Our task will be to write it in a version that can be used in the classroom," McDonald said.

Juneau said the histories will not only be accurate, but culturally appropriate as well.

"They're going to have to figure a way to write their history so it's usable in our K-12 schools," Juneau added.

Grants and training

The state Office of Public Instruction will use another $2 million over the next two years to hire two Indian education specialists and an assistant to develop model Indian Education For All curricula for schools. These curricula will be available to all public schools to use as they implement their own Indian Education For All programs, said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCulloch.

She said more of the money will also be used to train teachers.

OPI will disburse another $1.1 million to schools as grants, McCulloch added. She said the money will help schools that are already working on Indian Education For All programs. These early projects, she said, could be reproduced for schools that haven't yet implemented any Indian education programs.

"There are a lot of details yet to be worked out," McCulloch said. "But I hope to have some things out to schools by fall."

Weaving history together

Juneau said she hopes that Indians aren't categorized into lesson plans or pigeon-holed in a stand-alone "Indian education" curriculum. Instead, she hopes that cultural education on Montana's Indians is woven into the fabric of the public school curriculum.

For example, she said third graders learning about Montana history should also be taught about Montana's tribes at the same time. If students are working on art projects, they should also learn about traditional Indian art. And if they're learning about the stars in the sky, they should learn some Indian astronomy myths, she added.

"We really see it integrated throughout the curriculum," Juneau said. "I really think most of the teachers in Montana want to do this, but they don't have the resources and they don't know how to."

McCulloch said the Indian Education For All programs will take a while to phase in, but said Montana's early efforts are already being noticed in far-flung places.

"This has caught the attention of tribal folks all over the country," McCulloch said.

"People are looking to Montana. It's kind of exciting for us to be able to lead the way on this."