There is a great diverstiy among the twelve soverign tribes of Montana in their languages, cultures, histories, and governments. Each tribe has a distinct and unique cultural heritage that contributes to modern Montana. There is also great diversity among individual American Indians as identity is deveoped, defined, and redefined by entities, organizations, and people. Thre is no generic American Indian. While it is not necessary to know all the differences between tribal nations or individual t

There is a great diverstiy among the twelve soverign tribes of Montana in their languages, cultures, histories, and governments. Each tribe has a distinct and unique cultural heritage that contributes to modern Montana. There is also great diversity among individual American Indians as identity is deveoped, defined, and redefined by entities, organizations, and people. Thre is no generic American Indian. While it is not necessary to know all the differences between tribal nations or individual tribal members, it is important to know that those differences exist and the homogenization of American Indian people should be addressed when preparing and delivering IEFA lessons in the classroom. Additionally, tribal people's individual identities and experiences within and outside of school vary widely, there are certain shared experiences, susch as the boarding schools and other federal policies of assimilation that brought disruptions to the traditional transference of knowledge in tribal communities. These factors have had wide-ranging and lasting impacts on American Indian individuals and communities.