Julie Cajune (Salish) has been working in education for over 20 years. Her first teaching job was in a bilingual program for K-4th graders. This position inspired Julie to return to college and obtain a Master’s Degree in Education with an emphasis in bilingual studies. She then went on to serve her tribe and worked as a curriculum specialist for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes for five years. She returned to public education and worked as a school administrator for six years, serving the Ronan School District as their Director of Indian Education. During this tenure with the Ronan School district, Julie was awarded the Milken National Educator Award. Ms. Cajune has worked on culturally responsive educational materials for the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, the National Park Service, the Montana Historical Society and numerous other entities. She recently completed a three-year project developing tribal history materials funded by the Montana State Legislature. In 2009 Utne Reader named Julie as one of “50 visionaries changing your world.” That same year, she was awarded a $1.4 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The Kellogg grant was housed at Salish Kootenai College. Grant activities focused on documenting community histories of tribes in Montana and across the country. Julie is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and a recipient of the 2011Montana Governor’s Humanities Award. During 2012, Julie co-wrote, produced, and performed a one-woman play, Belief. She worked with Emmy-nominated pianist David Lanz, world flutist Gary Stroutsos, violin virtuoso Swil Kanim, and world percussionist David Revelli to create an original music score for the play. Belief premiered at the Bigfork Center for Performing Arts in Bigford, Montana, and has been performed throughout the state, as well as in Hawaii and in Spain. Julie traveled to Isle of Skye in Scotland to perform Belief in September, 2015. Ms. Cajune is currently working as an independent educational consultant. She can be reached by email at juliecajune@gmail.com.
Julie’s Current Activities
* Providing consultation to five schools in the American Indian Catholic School Network
* Working as a tribal liaison for the University of Montana Center for Integrated Research on the Environment
* Completing the last stages of a collaborative text, Our Way: A Parallel History, that includes essays from 24 indigenous scholars
* Working on two children’s books
* Editing for publication the Salish and Pend d’Oreille multi-media land history project that includes images and information on over 100 traditional place names
* Revising for publication the Montana Tribal Lands curriculum, funded by the Indian Land Tenure Foundation
* Compiling case studies from indigenous land manager presentations at the Native Lands and Wilderness Council during the World Wilderness Congress in Salamanca, Spain 2013