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About Us
Chickadee Community Services provides aid to necessary, yet underfunded Indigenous-focused education projects that will positively affect students, teachers, and communities. Future projects may include the following:
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Support for Class 7 educators (Montana's language and culture specialists)
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Technical assistance for tribes/school districts seeking to establish partnerships in culture/language classroom instruction
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Creation of online Indigenous language curriculum and/or modules in partnership with tribes
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Financial assistance for Indigenous speakers/topics whose work is under-supported.
Chickadee was founded in 2023 by a non-Native educator whose teaching experience occurred in reservation classrooms and within the field of Indigenous language revitalization.
All materials created in partnership with tribes will remain the intellectual property of the tribes, including but not limited to language materials and cultural information. Tribes and tribal partners will dictate who accesses the materials.
Who we are
Bill Swaney (Salish/Kootenai)
Board Chair
Bill has a long and diverse background in the field of natural science, environmental science and in the dissemination of knowledge as a tribal college instructor. He has worked as a wildlife biologist, as the manager of the Division of Environmental Protection and as Department Head of Tribal Education for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), and as a Sanitarian at an Indian Health Service Clinic. Bill taught for 13 years at Salish Kootenai College (SKC) in the field of environmental science and also served as Department Head of Environmental Science for most of that time. He has extensive experience in working with public school teachers as well, providing numerous presentations aimed at helping teachers implement the requirements of Montana’s Indian Education For All statute. Bill has assisted with the planning and delivery of professional development for both K-12 school teachers and for tribal college instructors.
Lark Real Bird
(Apsáalooke)
Board Vice Chair
Lark's Crow name is Holds Enemy Captive. She is a member of the Crow Tribe, a sister of the Big Lodge Clan and a daughter of the Whistling Water Clan.
Lark is from Garryowen, Montana. She grew up along the banks of the Little Big Horn River. She was raised by her grandmother and was fortunate to have extended family close by, which included a great grandmother, great aunts, great uncles, and many cousins who all spoke the Crow Language. She was encouraged to maintain her language and only speak English when she had to, which was in school, but at home all her family spoke was the Crow Language. She learned her Crow culture by living it.
Lark attended Montana State University and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Graphic Design and a Master of Arts Degree in Native American Studies, emphasis on Language Preservation.
Skye McGinty
(Little Shell Chippewa)
Board Secretary/Treasurer
Skye (she/her) is an enrolled member of the Little Shell Chippewa tribe. She is a three-time graduate from the University of Montana with her Bachelor and Master of Art degrees in Sociology with an emphasis in Inequality and Social Justice, and a master of Business Administration degree. ​
Skye has dedicated her academic and career pursuits to examining and addressing the unique unmet needs of underserved communities. Skye wrote her master's thesis on low-income and first-generation college students' experiences in higher education and how campus programs aimed at assisting vulnerable students can improve. As an AmeriCorps Vista, Skye wrote the Project Beacon grant, an initiative geared towards providing comprehensive care to Indigenous sex trafficking survivors. ​
Originally from the flatlands of Northeastern Montana, Skye enjoys exploring Missoula's excellent hiking trails and public lands with her dog, Huckleberry, in her spare time.
Lea Whitford
(Amskapi Pikuni/Blackfeet)
IEFA Consultant to Schools
Lea Whitford, M.Ed is a member of the Blackfeet Tribe. She has taught Native American Studies and Blackfeet Studies for over 30+ years at high school and college levels. She served as department chair at Blackfeet Community College for over a decade. She has written numerous grants over her career to assist funding language and culturally relevant programs.
She served in the Montana State legislature as a Representative and Senator.
Lea worked as a Blackfeet Native American Studies District Instructional Coach (PreK-12) assisting teachers with implementing a BNAS / IEFA curriculum. She continues as an Indian Education for All consultant working with teachers and students across the state.
Chris La Tray
(Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians)
Collaborator
Chris La Tray (Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians) is a Métis storyteller and a descendant of the Pembina Band of the mighty Red River of the North. His third book, Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home, was published by Milkweed Editions on August 20, 2024 and has received a number of accolades including a Pacific Northwest Book Award and a Writing the West Award, and Best Memoir of the Year selections from both People and Esquire magazines. His first book, One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays from the World at Large won the 2018 Montana Book Award and a 2019 High Plains Book Award. His book of haiku and haibun poetry, Descended from a Travel-worn Satchel, was published in 2021 by Foothills Publishing. Chris served as the 2025 Kittredge Distinguished Visiting Writer at the University of Montana and was awarded the 2025 Montana Heritage Keeper Award by the Montana Historical Society. Chris writes the weekly newsletter “An Irritable Métis” and lives near Frenchtown, Montana. He was the 11th Montana Poet Laureate, holding that post for 2023–2025.
Whitney TopSky
(Cree)
Language Matters Host
Tansi kahkiyahw! kitatamiskatinawaw niwahkomakanak. Whitney TopSky nisikahson, tahkohci kisik niwihowin. ahsiniywahcisik ociniyah, nichahyik niwikin. kitatamihinawaw ayhay
Whitney TopSky has served as the Nehiyahw language teacher at Box Elder Schools for the past seven years. Before this role, she taught Art at Chinook Schools and worked as a Native American tutor at Lincoln McKinley Primary School in Havre. She earned her degree in Art Education from the University of Montana, where she developed a strong interest in cultural curriculum. To further her teaching path, she completed summer courses to earn her Class 7 teacher license. As a second language learner of Nehiyahw, Whitney finds joy in both teaching and continuing her own personal journey of learning and revitalizing the language.
Jordynn Paz
(Apsáalooke)
Digital Strategist and Media Producer
Jordynn Paz is from the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation of southeast Montana. Jordynn received her Bachelor of Arts in journalism and Native American Studies from the University of Montana. Her writings have covered Indigenous issues including the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement, blood quantum, and the complexities of Indigenous identity. She’s worked in communications for Indigenous-led nonprofits and grassroots organizations, supporting campaigns to free Leonard Peltier, advocate for tribal sovereignty, and develop narrative strategies to advance Indigenous rights.
Michelle Mitchell (Salish/Kootenai)
Instructor, Native American Studies for Teachers
Michelle Mitchell currently serves as the Acting Director of Tribal Member Services and Department Head for the Tribal Education Department of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. A proud tribal member residing on her tribe's permanent homelands, Michelle brings 30 years of experience in Indigenous education to her leadership. She is a firm believer in the strength and beauty of her people and maintains that students thrive when empowered to focus on their unique gifts and passions.
Previously, Michelle led the American Indian Student Achievement division at the Montana Office of Public Instruction. Her extensive background in Great Falls, Montana, includes serving as the Indigenous Student Achievement Coach at Great Falls High School, where she supported over 200 students annually. Her teaching career spans 7th-grade ELA at East Middle School, the "Jobs for MT Graduates" program, and co-creating the Indigenous Immersion School at Paris Gibson High School. At the heart of her work is a commitment to building strong relationships.
In her free time, Michelle enjoys reading, beading, and spending time with her family, including her parents, daughters, granddaughters, and her "grandpuppy."
Joan Malloch
Social Media Manager
With experience in filmmaking, post-production, and political communication, Joan Malloch produces content for organizations working in education, sustainability, and cultural preservation.
Her background includes producing, content delivery, post-production supervision, and sound. She is a past member of the Producers Guild of America and has contributed to sustainability education through the Sustainable Furnishings Council and the Climate Reality Project.
For over a decade, she has served on the City of Morganton’s Historic Preservation Commission, where she is Chair, and contributed to Historic Burke Foundation as board member and president. Her civic involvement includes managing the inaugural City Council campaign of Morganton Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Cato.
Anna East
Founding Director
Anna East, Ed.D., is the founding director of Chickadee Community Services. Her high school teaching career took place on the Flathead Reservation, home of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT). After 22 years there, she took a position at the Montana Digital Academy where she develops online Indigenous language courses in partnership with tribes of Montana. Anna was a US Department of Education Teaching Ambassador, State and Tribal Education Partnership facilitator, author of Montana Office of Public Instruction units on the books Wind from an Enemy Sky and Brothers on Three as well as a teaching unit on the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians in addition to other essays and articles. She and her students were the subjects of the documentary Inside Anna's Classroom, produced by the Center for American Indian Policy and Applied Research, which featured place-based education on the Flathead Reservation. Anna is a 2014 CSKT Distinguished Educator awardee and the 2014 Montana Teacher of the Year.
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