Montana Superintendent Denise Juneau was named Educator of the Year and was honored at the 2009 National Indian Education Assocation Annual Convention Gala Banquet on Saturday, October 24, 2009 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NIEA has recognized Native leaders who have changed and improved the lives of schoolchildren and impacted the dialog concerning Native education issues, both locally and nationally since 1977.
"I am humbled and honored to receive this award," said Denise. “To be nominated and honored by your peers is a huge privilege and one that I certainly did not achieve on my own,” Denise continued. “I have had the good fortune to have both friends and family provide a strong base of support, learning, and encouragement that allows me to do the work I do,” Denise said.
Denise, a member of the Mandan and Hidatsa Tribes and a descendant of the Blackfeet Tribe, grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation, graduated from Browning High School, graduated from Montana State University, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and received her Law Degree from the University of Montana. She taught English in North Dakota as well as in Browning High School. Read more at Native American Times.
