Montana Library Network Virtual Programming Series
The goals of this series are to provide:
High-quality and interesting topics and information to MontanansOpportunities for public libraries to become familiar with publicizing and participating in virtual program offerings for their communitiesOpportunities for Montanans to connect with others around the state on topics of interest
September 2024 - May 2025 Schedule
Poet Laureate Chris La Tray
Event Description:
Métis storyteller and Little Shell Chippewa member Chris La Tray approaches the practice of poetry the same as he does the spiritual life of an Anishinaabe person: which is to say, if one lives an Anishinaabe life, with particular attention to the seven guiding principles of the Seven Grandfather teachings – Humility, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Truth, Respect, and Love – then every footstep becomes a prayer. Similarly, if one approaches poetry in a similar fashion, recognizing that everything that happens may be viewed as a poem, and that every moment in life is an experience best paid constant and careful attention to, then every footstep becomes a poem. Whether as words on a page or shared orally, poetry becomes another means for telling and sharing stories; La Tray’s programs exist to remind people that their stories matter, that they are the only ones who can properly tell them, and that poetry, however it is defined, is a beautiful means for doing so.Presenter Bio:
Event Description: To help us celebrate Bat Week 2024 Dan Bachen from the Montana Heritage Project will be speaking on the distribution and conservation of the state’s bat species, followed by a presentation from Eleanor Kamp, a local Girl Scout who has developed a blue print for bat safe bat houses. Attendees will receive a link to the blueprint to build a bat house.
Bats are an important part of Montana’s ecosystem, but white-nose syndrome is killing off bats across the US and Canada. What can we do to help bats? People can help bats by building bat boxes which can provide clean, safe homes for these important flying mammals. This talk will include simple, printable blueprints for building bat boxes. No power tools? No problem! We will also share resources for vetted, pre-cut bat boxes that you can assemble and paint at home or at the library.
Presenters:
Dan Bachen
Eleanor Kamp
Bats are an important part of Montana’s ecosystem, but white-nose syndrome is killing off bats across the US and Canada. What can we do to help bats? People can help bats by building bat boxes which can provide clean, safe homes for these important flying mammals. This talk will include simple, printable blueprints for building bat boxes. No power tools? No problem! We will also share resources for vetted, pre-cut bat boxes that you can assemble and paint at home or at the library.
Event Description:
Who are all the newcomers?
People moving into Montana communities is nothing new, but the recent jump has drawn our attention to this decades long trend. A recent study by MSU researchers shows who is moving to Montana communities, where they are coming from and why they are moving here. Key findings from the research include how many are moving for a job, how many are returning, how many have kids and what do people do in a community once they get there. This study is a replication of the original “Brain Gain” research conducted by Ben Winchester of the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality.
Presenter Bio:
Tara Mastel is Program Lead for Community Vitality at MSU Extension where she works to support rural community vitality and local leaders. She served nearly ten years as a Community and Economic Development Extension Agent in Jefferson County Montana where she led a range of projects including historic building renovations, industrial park development, farmer’s markets and local community foundations. Tara grew up in Wolf Point and lives with her family in Red Lodge.
Rural Montana - Connect to Thrive!
Event Description:
Two rural Montana public health enthusiasts discuss findings from surveys and interviews with rural Montanans about the health, vitality, needs, strengths, and future of their communities.Presenter Bio:
Event Description:
This program trains interested participants on how to interview, collect and archive oral histories in their communities. Candi Zion who is the author of “Winifred Oral History Project”, “In Between People: The Metis of Central Montana” and “Walkin’ Down the Middle: The Hi-Line Metis”, teaches program attendees to how to conduct interviews in their communities, for future generations. From picking subject matter, finding interviewees, knowing the correct questions to ask, and transcribing interviews, Preserving Montana’s Oral Histories and Traditions looks to give community members across Montana the tools and confidence to preserve their local history.Candi Zion
Presenter Bio:
Candi Zion is a 3rd generation Montanan influenced by her dad, Scotty Zion, who was a son of homesteaders and passionate about history. He wrote several books which highlight his personal life stories growing up as a poor farm kid to developing the largest statewide house moving business in Montana. Candi went on to higher education receiving an Honors Degree from Barrett College, and a Bachelor’s Degree from Arizona State University as well as a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation from the same educational institution. She worked as the Missoula Historic Preservation Officer, managed the historic facilities program for the Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department, and as an independent consultant documented and surveyed numerous neighborhoods and historic buildings. Candi currently conducts cultural resource surveys and oral interviews with CZ Consulting. She continues to promote the history of Montana by serving on the Board of Trustees for the Montana Historical Society.Jennifer Birnel
Event Description:
This program will dive into the rich history of the restricted--red light--districts in Missoula and Hamilton, spanning between the region's earliest red-light settlement in 1870 through the deaths of the original founders in the early 1940s. Throughout the talk, we will look at the influence these ostracized communities had on the socio-cultural development of the Western Montana region, particularly in the Bitterroot Valley, as well as the interconnected relationships shared between the varying districts that provided the foundation for survival in the American West. Additionally, we will also look into the lives of some of the districts' key members such as Clara and Henry Smith, Frank Gray, Tish Nevins, Sam Tom, and Mary Gleim. This lecture will take a deep dive into the region's diverse demographics at the turn of the 20th century as well as showcase just how these forgotten Montanans paved the way for our society today.Presenter Bio:
Chemistry of Fossils
Event Description:
The Hell Creek Formation in Montana and Dakotas is a fossil treasure trove from around 68 to 66 million years ago. Some dinosaur fossils from the Hell Creek Formation contain preserved biomolecules such as collagen, yet what preserves these biomolecules is still unknown. In order to understand such a unique preservation, both fossils and surrounding rocks were analyzed under microscope. Although fossilized bones preserve original fabric, microscopic fractures indicate the repeated desiccation and rehydration. The surrounding rocks show signs of grain dissolution and precipitations of carbonate and other minerals. Although this study does directly identify the process in charge of soft tissues preservation, complexity of fossilization process has been revealed.
Presenter Bio:
Daigo Yamamura, Ph.D.
Daigo Yamamura is among the Science faculty at Miles Community College (MCC).He received B.S. in Earth Science and Ecology and M.S. in Earth Science from Montana State University (2008 and 2013 respectively). In 2017 he moved to Fayetteville, AR to study stable isotope geochemistry and received Ph.D. His dissertation work provided opportunities to collaborate with Natural History Museum of Utah, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Bureau of Land Management and Utah Geological Survey.
He has also worked as a mitigation paleontologist in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. with a research focus on paleoclimate and paleoecology of the Cretaceous North America. The majority of the fieldwork took place in eastern Montana and South-central Utah. Use of chemical signatures for paleoclimate investigation requires distinguishing biological signatures from geological (diagenesis) signature. As such, understanding of chemistry is essential to the techniques employed in my research; including petrography, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and stable isotope geochemistry.
Disabled in the Wild: Learning How to Explore the Outdoors with Chronic Illness and Disabilities
Event Description:
Equipped with forearm crutches, a portable chair, and the willingness to take a nap on the riverbed at a moment's notice, Amy Denton-Luke shares her journey of finding adaptations, acceptance, and an appreciation for exploring the outdoors with chronic illness and disabilities. Through her personal experiences and powerful photographs, Amy discusses how she continues to enjoy rockhounding, her favorite pastime, while also tending to her symptoms, such as chronic pain and fatiguing weakness in her legs.Amy also shares some of her work through Disabled in the Wild, including her tips for exploring, her "must have" list for adventures, and her 23 accessibility reviews for outdoor spaces in the Missoula area. She outlines what makes outdoor spaces accessible for disabled folks and why we should all advocate for inclusivity, equity, and accessibility in the outdoors, especially in a state where outdoor recreation has such a central and special place in its residents' lives.
Leaving behind the "overcoming" myth and ableist notions of disability as tragedy or inspiration, Amy advocates for a more balanced, nuanced, and grounded view of life with disability. Through this program, she hopes to encourage both disabled and non-disabled folks do the same.
Presenter Bio:
Photo by Missoula photographer - Katherine Gundlach
Amy Denton-Luke is a chronically ill and disabled outdoors lover with a passion for rockhounding. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from Montana State University Bozeman in 2011, and attended graduate school at the University of Montana in Missoula from 2015-2016 before dropping out due to a severe illness.In 2022, Amy created Disabled in the Wild, a blog, Instagram account, and YouTube channel that focuses on exploring the outdoors with chronic illness and disabilities, with the goal of encouraging all folks to find ways to enjoy outdoor recreation within their abilities. She hopes to continue advocating for disabled people and finding ways to contribute to disability awareness in the outdoors and in everyday life.
Event Description:
Have you ever caught a fish and didn’t know what it was? Montana is home to 91 different species of fish that can be difficult to identify. This program will teach you how to look at a fish in a way that will help you figure out what it is. This is an interactive program where you will be involved in the identification of fish through a activity after a short presentation.Presenter Bio:
Ryan Schmaltz - Montana Wild
I have worked for Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks now for 12 years. I lead Project Wild Educator Trainings all over the state for hundreds of teachers each year. I supervise the National Archery in the Schools in nearly 200 Montana schools, lead education programing the MT WILD Education Center in Helena and visit local schools teaching the Hooked-on Fishing Program.
Archive 2023 - 2024
Event description: Get ready to rock with Neil Maier, president of the Hellgate Mineral Society, as he joins us to dish out the dirt on rockhounding in Montana. From seasoned mineral masters to new rockhounding recruits, Neil will fascinate you with his adventures, complete with pictures of his abundance of finds. He will also discuss the best tools, safety tips and rockhounding hotspots. Whether you are a die hard gem seeker or casual rock enthusiast, this presentation will leave you prepared to embark on your own rockhounding adventures this summer.
Speaker Bio:
Neil was born and raised in the Missoula area. Even as a youth, rocks held a fascination for him. He collected many (though not valuable) specimens. When he married his wife, she too was a rock lover. They started their pursuit together searching for sapphires at the Chaussee Sapphire mine and came away with many wonderful stones.
He was employed at paper mills for 40 years and 7 years at The University of Montana. During this time his love of rocks never wavered. He has been involved with Hunter Safety Education, Fishing Education and Bow Hunting Education for 35 years.
Neil purchased a 24 inch rock saw and the passion for rocks increased. Now he could get those larger rocks and cut them open to discover the mysteries held within. One saw led to another and now he is the proud owner of 4 larger rock saws. Several tons of rock and many other pieces of equipment.
They are both members of the Hellgate Mineral Society in Missoula. Neil is the current President and also the Show Chair for the March Hellgate Rock, Mineral, and Gem Show. They participate in educating other club members at the monthly club pop-up clinics, where members can learn to use rock saws, slant lap and 6-wheel polishing machines.
Late summer through early fall you can find them adventuring out searching for new treasures. They rockhound Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming to date.
Program Description:
The Montana Constitution is unique in that it requires the citizens of the state be given the opportunity to vote on the option to study their form and structure of local government once every ten years. This process is known as the Montana Local Government Voter Review and the seventh review cycle will be held 2024-2026. If you are wondering “What is this and how will it impact me?” this webinar is for you! Learn more about the Montana Local Government Voter Review purpose, process, scope, and next steps during this virtual presentation.
View Recording
Speaker Bio:
Ashley Kent joined the Local Government Center (LGC) in July 2014 and now serves as the LGC Associate Director. She oversees the certified education programs the LGC offers for local government officials, provides governance and leadership workshops across the state, and is working to create additional education resources in response to needs expressed by local government officials throughout Montana.
Ashley earned her bachelor's degree in Business Management from Montana State University in 2012 and her Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Montana in 2017. Prior to the Local Government Center, Ashley worked in other departments at MSU including Human Resources and Institutional Equity. She also served as the System Manager of Governance for a non-profit healthcare organization.
The Montana Constitution is unique in that it requires the citizens of the state be given the opportunity to vote on the option to study their form and structure of local government once every ten years. This process is known as the Montana Local Government Voter Review and the seventh review cycle will be held 2024-2026. If you are wondering “What is this and how will it impact me?” this webinar is for you! Learn more about the Montana Local Government Voter Review purpose, process, scope, and next steps during this virtual presentation.
View Recording
Speaker Bio:
Ashley Kent joined the Local Government Center (LGC) in July 2014 and now serves as the LGC Associate Director. She oversees the certified education programs the LGC offers for local government officials, provides governance and leadership workshops across the state, and is working to create additional education resources in response to needs expressed by local government officials throughout Montana.
Ashley earned her bachelor's degree in Business Management from Montana State University in 2012 and her Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Montana in 2017. Prior to the Local Government Center, Ashley worked in other departments at MSU including Human Resources and Institutional Equity. She also served as the System Manager of Governance for a non-profit healthcare organization.
Program description:
Over the course of the past three decades, Montana has become one of the leading states in the country in both organic agriculture and production of lentils, a key organic rotation crop that is high in protein and micronutrients. The story of how we got here is a fascinating and heartwarming tale of farmers recognizing existential challenges facing their communities and banding together to create solutions. Tonight, we'll hear about Montana's organic agriculture movement and pulse crop revolution from one of the farmers at the center of the story: David Oien, Founding Farmer of Timeless Seeds in Ulm. Moderating this conversation will be Missoula-born Liz Carlisle, author of the books Lentil Underground, Grain by Grain (with Bob Quinn), and Healing Grounds. Liz is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at UC Santa Barbara.
Speaker Bio:
Liz Carlisle is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at UC Santa Barbara, where she teaches courses on food and farming. Born and raised in Montana, she got hooked on agriculture while working as an aide to organic farmer and U.S. Senator Jon Tester, which led to a decade of research and writing collaborations with farmers in her home state. She has written three books about regenerative farming and agroecology: Lentil Underground (2015), Grain by Grain (2019, with co-author Bob Quinn), and most recently, Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming (2022). She is also a frequent contributor to both academic journals and popular media outlets, focusing on food and farm policy, incentivizing soil health practices, and supporting new entry farmers. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography, from UC Berkeley, and a B.A. in Folklore and Mythology, from Harvard
Speaker Bio:
David Oien is a third-generation farmer who joined others in the state’s early alternative energy and organic farming movement, and, along with 3 farmer friends (Jim Barngrover of Grass Range, Bud Bart of Lewistown, Tom Hastings of Conrad), were inspired by the research of Montana State University Agronomist Dr. Jim Sims to found Timeless Seeds in 1986. The vision of the company was to transform conventional agriculture to organic production by using soil-building legumes as cover crops and cash crops. Over the decades, the company introduced organic farming techniques and the planting of crops like lentils, dry edible peas, and chickpeas into their own cropping rotations and into the rotations of many other Montana farmers, both conventional and organic. Timeless, which relocated from David’s farm to Ulm, Montana, in 2005, now contracts with dozens of certified organic family farmers across Montana. It has become known both nationally and internationally as a grower, processor, packager, and marketer of certified organic, premium quality and nutrient dense lentils, chickpeas, and heirloom grains.
Over the decades, both Timeless and David have received numerous awards of recognition from organizations including, Alternative Energy Resource Organization, Montana Governor’s Office, Montana Organic Association, Montana Ambassadors Association, Good Food Foundation, and the Organic Trade Association. The broadest and most important recognition for Timeless has come by being the subject of Dr. Liz Carlisle’s 2015 book Lentil Underground.
David’s journey to help transform agriculture to a more sustainable, resilient, and environmentally friendly enterprise has been inspired by a long list of now-classic books including An Agricultural Statement by Sir Albert Howard, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, Small is Beautiful by E.F. Schumacher, Diet for a Small Planet by Francis Moore Lappe’, Agroecology by Miguel Altieri, Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, and others.
A guiding principle for David’s work comes from R. Buckminster Fuller: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
A Taste of Indigenous Foods with Mariah Gladstone, Indigikitchen
Speaker Bio:
Mariah Gladstone, Piikuni (Blackfeet) and Tsalagi (Cherokee), grew up in Northwest Montana on and near the Blackfeet Reservation. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Environmental Engineering and returned home where she began her work on food advocacy. She developed Indigikitchen, an online cooking platform, to revitalize and re-imagine Native foods. Mariah has been recognized as a Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow. Gladstone earned a Master’s degree at SUNY-ESF in the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. She has shared the importance of reconnecting to traditional foods at events throughout North America and abroad, as well as through appearances on the Today Show, CBC, and more.
Program Description:
What are indigenous foods, where do we get them, and how do we prepare them? Many native North American foods, both cultivated and harvested, were removed from our diets through intentional colonial efforts. Mariah Gladstone is leading the way in a food movement that is revitalizing and incorporating these important foods into the contemporary diet. During her cooking demonstration, she will prepare one of her original recipes and showcase other indigenous foods that can easily be used in your own kitchen.
Recording: Available for registered attendees.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Jon Turk earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1971 and was nominated by National Geographic as one of the Top Ten Adventurers of the Year in 2012. Between these bookends, Jon co-authored the first college level environmental science textbook in North America, followed by 35 additional texts. At the same time, he kayaked around Cape Horn, across the North Pacific from Japan to Alaska, and around Ellesmere Island. He has also mountain biked across the northern Gobi in Mongolia and made numerous first ski descents and first rock climbing ascents around the globe. During extended travel in northeast Siberia, Jon’s worldview was altered by Moolynaut, a Siberian shaman, and his later books reflect these spiritual journeys, supported by adventure storytelling, and integrated with an anthropological view of the role of art and mythology in human development.
Program Description:
On my first day in first grade, I dropped out of line, lay down on the floor, and started crying. Intuitively, I understood that school would steal something vital from me, something I didn’t want to lose. I got up, brushed off my fears, did well in school, eventually earned a Ph.D. in chemistry, and became successful in this oil-soaked, internet-crazed, consumer-oriented world.
But then I wandered the world in my kayak and eventually ended up in a remote Siberian village. I stood naked, on one leg, in front of a Koryak elder, Moolynaut and together we flew to the Other World, to converse with Kutcha the Raven.
Back home, I studied the Stone Age past of humanity … and learned that our ancestors developed mythology, art, music, and dance before they invented sophisticated tools and weaponry. Apparently, Spirit journeys in the Serpent Cave were more critical to human survival than the bow and arrow.
A Siberian elder once told me: If you lose the magic in your life, you lose your power.
But we’ve turned things around in the modern world. The meaning and origin of power has been hijacked. So, let’s step out of line one more time, lay down on the floor, shed tears, and talk about what we have lost and what we don’t want to lose.
Speaker Bio:
Ellen Baumler earned her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in English, classics, and history. She was the Montana Historical Society’s interpretive historian from 1992 to her retirement in 2018 and is the award-winning author of numerous books and dozens of articles on diverse topics. Her stories of the supernatural have been collected in five books: Spirit Tailings, Beyond Spirit Tailings, Montana Chillers (for younger readers), Haunted Helena and Ghosts of the Last Best Place.
Program Description:
History and the supernatural are the canvas for this program that intertwines the past with the present. Historian, storyteller, and award-winning author Ellen Baumler weaves a ghostly web in a thought-provoking journey to Montana’s most spirited places. Basing her true stories on firsthand accounts, personal interviews, and historical records, her well-researched tales have scared and delighted audiences of all ages. Haunted places include hotels, houses, cemeteries, mines, and historic landscapes across Montana. With a ghostly twist on history, Baumler captures Montana’s cultural heritage and brings the state’s supernatural past to life.
Speaker Bio:
Kyle Langley is an archaeologist with Glacier National Park. He studies the past and present human relationship with rugged high alpine environments such as Glacier National Park, exploring how humans have found sustenance and meaning in these environments.
Program Description:
Long ago, before the Going the Sun Road or the Sperry Chalet, Glacier National Park was once home to bison. While today visitors can still experience bears, goats and moose, the bison no longer graze in the meadows and valleys below the towering peaks. This presentation will explore what is known and not known about the bison who once roamed in these rugged mountains and the people who for centuries lived with and relied on these bison. This presentation will also review recent research into bison in Glacier, including some preliminary results which have yet to be published.
Archive 2022 - 2023
Event Description:
Foraging for wild mushrooms has become a popular activity in Montana and across the country. The idea of free food from forests and meadows is appealing, but a wrong choice for the frying pan can be potentially deadly. There are dangerous mushrooms out there--and also lots of delicious ones! This presentation covers how to get started collecting wild mushrooms, including how to find them, how to pick them, and how to identify them. Choice Montana edibles such as King Boletes, chanterelles, morels, hawk wings, lion’s mane, oysters, and more, are shown in full color and their edible properties described. The general rules for eating wild mushrooms are also important to know. Lastly, a few of the toxic species to be avoided, especially those that have caused poisonings in Montana, will be discussed. Further resources for wild mushroom hunting in Montana are provided. Learn about the diversity of mushrooms in our state and how they promote ecosystem health!
Foraging for wild mushrooms has become a popular activity in Montana and across the country. The idea of free food from forests and meadows is appealing, but a wrong choice for the frying pan can be potentially deadly. There are dangerous mushrooms out there--and also lots of delicious ones! This presentation covers how to get started collecting wild mushrooms, including how to find them, how to pick them, and how to identify them. Choice Montana edibles such as King Boletes, chanterelles, morels, hawk wings, lion’s mane, oysters, and more, are shown in full color and their edible properties described. The general rules for eating wild mushrooms are also important to know. Lastly, a few of the toxic species to be avoided, especially those that have caused poisonings in Montana, will be discussed. Further resources for wild mushroom hunting in Montana are provided. Learn about the diversity of mushrooms in our state and how they promote ecosystem health!
Presenter Bio:
Dr. Cathy Cripps is mycologist and professor at Montana State University where she teaches and does research on fungi. She earned her BS from the University of Michigan and PhD from Virginia Tech. Her research on mushrooms that survive in Arctic and alpine habitats has taken her to Iceland, Svalbard, Norway, Greenland, the Austrian Alps, Finland, and our own Rocky Mountains. The use of mycorrhizal fungi to promote whitebark pine restoration at high elevations is another research focus. She is lead author of “The Essential Guide to Rocky Mountain Mushrooms by Habitat”, editor of “Fungi in Forest Ecosystems” and “Arctic and Alpine Mycology 8” and has authored numerous scientific papers. With over 40 years of experience collecting mushrooms, first as an amateur when she lived in a cabin in Colorado and later as a professional leading forays and teaching field classes in Montana, her love and enthusiasm for the Rocky Mountains and its fungal creatures runs deep.
Event Description:
Thunderous is a children's graphic novel grounded in contemporary Indigenous experiences while also centering traditional Lakota ways of knowing, language and identity. The authors will share highlights of how the book came to life and read a selection.
Presenter Bio:
Mandy Smoker Broaddus: Mandy Smoker Broaddus is a member of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana. She has served at as an K-12 educator and administrator and tribal college instructor. She also worked as the Indian education director for the state of Montana for ten years and is currently employed by the non-profit, Education Northwest as a Senior Advisor for Native Education and Culturally Responsive Practice. She serves as an appointee by President Obama on the National Advisory Council on Indian Education. She holds an MFA from the University of Montana in Missoula,and is the author of one collection or poetry and a children’s graphic novel, Thunderous. In 2019 she was recognized as an alumna of the year by the University. She was poet laureate for the state of Montana from 2019-2021. She has also received a regional Emmy award for her work as a writer/consultant on the PBS documentary Indian Relay.
Presenter Bio:
Natalie Peeterse: Natalie Peeterse is the co-author of the graphic novel Thunderous. Her poetry chapbook, Black Birds : Blue Horse, An Elegy, won the Gold Line Press Poetry Prize in 2011. A second poetry chapbook, Dreadful : Luminosity, Letters, was published by Educe Press in the spring of 2017. She was included in I Go to the Ruined Place: Contemporary Poems in Defense of Global Human Rights (Lost Horse Press), and several other anthologies. She has an MFA from the University of Montana and has been a fellow with the Arizona Commission on the Arts, a participant at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, an artist in residence at the Caldera Institute, a participant in the 2018 US Poets in Mexico in Merida, Yucatan and most recently a Visiting Scholar at the University of Washington’s Whiteley Center at the Friday Harbor Laboratories. She is a recipient of the 2013 Artist Innovation Award by the Montana Arts Council. She lives in Helena, Montana where she works on Open Country Press.
Event Description:
The concept of a “fibershed,” a term coined by Rebecca Burgess, and popularized in her 2019 book* of the same name, has spread all over the U.S. and the world. Like a watershed, which defines a catchment and drainage area for a given landscape, a fibershed is a geographically-defined area in which natural fiber resources are produced and then used by the people living within its boundaries. Montana Fibershed seeks to educate Montanans on the benefits of a place-based, local fiber system. A parallel concept to the local foods movement, this local cloth movement highlights the origins of our fiber and clothing. Just like our food, our natural-fiber clothing also comes from the land. We are working to connect our fiber producers, the farmers and ranchers, to our local designers, makers, businesses, and other end-users of Montana-raised natural fiber, and in so doing, to bolster the Montana textile economy and its supply chains, and to promote regenerative agricultural practices for healthy soils and a more balanced ecosystem across our great state.
*Fibershed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Adtivists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy, by Rebecca Burgess, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2019.
Presenter Bio:
Barb French: Barb French is a maker with a life-long devotion to natural fibers. She learned to sew and knit from her mother at a young age, and from high school days, was making and designing her own clothes. Later, weaving, spinning and dyeing were added to her fiber obsessions. Barb studied music and languages at Montana State University, graduating with a B.A. in French. She received her M.A. Ed. from Tennessee State University, as well as her Certificate in English as a Second Language. She has taught French, Humanities, and ESL.. Barb owned a yarn shop in Bozeman in the 2000’s and the focus of her teaching turned toward the fiber arts of weaving, spinning, knitting, and others. More recently, her work centers on weaving, for garments and for rugs. The Montana Fibershed organization has encompassed so many of Barb’s interests, from the love of fiber and fashion, to the sustainable growth of Montana’s textile industry and the fascinating subject of regenerative agriculture within the Montana fiber economy. As a member of the original steering committee and now a Board member, she is dedicated to spreading the good word of the benefits of local, natural fibers for both people and planet.
Presenter Bio:
Helen Harris: Helen Harris is a professional artist who’s medium includes weaving, stitching, dyeing & mineral pigment painting. She holds BFA & MA degrees in Textile Design/Weaving/Mixed Media Art, from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL. Growing up she learned to mend and stitch at her grandmother’s knee. These days, if she isn’t wandering the foothills of her Ennis home looking for colors, patterns, and textures in nature to inspire elaborate weavings, she is creatively mending jeans and recycling fibers. Helen sees an opportunity to support regenerative agriculture through her artistry and fashions and sourcing regional fibers is one way to begin. Helen is a current board member of the Montana Fibershed, took part in the organization’s debut event, the Farm-To-Fashion show. She believes sustainability is linked to the concept of slow fashion, or the conscious production, distribution, and mindful use of clothing. Slow fashion goes beyond how we create and market garments, to include the full lifecycle of these textiles.
Event Description:
The Montana-based Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians became the 574th Indian tribe to be recognized by the United States government in December, 2019, after over 150 years of trying. Headquartered in Great Falls with more than 6,000 enrolled members, the Little Shell Tribe is connected to all area Anishinaabe tribes, including the Chippewa, Cree, and Assiniboine people, and, particularly, the Métis, or mixed-race. La Tray relates stories to reveal the larger reality behind the “Little Shell” name, including how conflict with the US government led to the fracture and spreading out of what were once tight, family-based bands, their members often finding refuge on other reservations and marrying into other Montana tribes, like the Blackfeet and Salish people. The program helps people better understand who the Little Shell are, and their part in the history of North America.
Presenter Bio:
Chris La Tray is a Métis storyteller, a descendent of the Pembina Band of the mighty Red River of the North and an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. His third book, Becoming Little Shell, will be published by Milkweed Editions in 2023. 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 writes the weekly newsletter "An Irritable Métis" on Substack and lives near Missoula, Montana.
https://chrislatray.substack.com
Event Description:
Have you heard the stories of Montana’s connections to the sinking of the Titanic? Not only were there over a dozen Titanic passengers who listed Montana as their destination, there were also numerous personal and professional Montana connections. The aspirations and make up of these individuals—miners, emigrants, carpenters, homesteaders, dishwashers, and millionaires—represent the social and economic make up of 1912 Montana. Their stories range from tragic to inspiring.
Presenter Bio:
Zoe Ann Stoltz is the Reference Historian for Montana Historical Society Research Center. After growing up in eastern Montana and raising three daughters in the northwestern corner of the state, Zoe Ann pursued her dream of becoming a Public Historian. To this end, she graduated from Mount Holyoke College in MA, and earned her Master’s in History from the University of Montana. As Reference Historian for the Montana Historical Society, Zoe Ann’s career combines her two passions, the people and history of Montana! Her current projects include studies of Montana Foodways, and Montana Livestock Brand Records.
Event Description:
Mariah’s cooking demonstration will include a history of Indigenous food systems, as well as the relationship between cultural identity, health, and native plants. She'll discuss the current Indigenous food movement and how the ingredients native to this continent can be incorporated into today's meal planning and preparation.
Presenter Bio:
Mariah Gladstone, Piikuni (Blackfeet) and Tsalagi (Cherokee), grew up in Northwest Montana on and near the Blackfeet Reservation. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Environmental Engineering and returned home where she began her work on food advocacy. She developed Indigikitchen, an online cooking platform, to revitalize and re-imagine Native foods. Mariah was named a "Champion for Change" by the Center for Native American Youth and is currently a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leader and a MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellow. In 2021, she completed her graduate degree at SUNY-ESF in the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, appeared on the Today Show for their Thanksgiving Episode, and was named a Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow by the First Nations Development Institute.
No recording available
Event Description:
Poet laureate Mark Gibbons is a lifelong resident of the state who began writing poetry in high school, married young, and has worked a variety of jobs to remain in Montana. His presentations will explore the power of poetry, how it reveals through personal experience and human emotion what it’s like to be a human being, and how it helps us recognize that all of us have more in common than we think. By sharing his and others’ poems, he will discuss his love of poetry, and his belief that it not only matters but is an essential tool for developing empathy and understanding. Poetry is social glue. Every person is a poet whether they know it or not. Everyone thinks, imagines, feels, dreams. Poetry shows us that on paper and in song.
Presenter Bio:
Mark Gibbons is the author of nine books and two chapbooks of poetry, most recently In the Weeds and mostly cloudy. He’s edited two poetry collections for Drumlummon Institute and is the current editor of the Montana Poets Series for FootHills Publishing. For four decades, Gibbons has taught poetry to a variety of citizens in Montana from one-room schools to colleges to the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs. He lives in Missoula with his wife and continues to teach with the Missoula Writing Collaborative.
No recording available
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