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AWARD WINNING FFA STUDENTS FROM PRYOR
CELEBRATE CROW CULTURE AT BAIR FAMILY MUSEUM
Tepee raising, demonstrations, and
traditional dancing
11 a.m., Friday, May 2
Bair Family Museum
Martinsdale
High School Students with the Plenty Coups
FFA chapter from Pryor will demonstrate the rich traditions
of their Crow heritage, Friday, May 2, on the grounds of the
Bair Family Museum, in Martinsdale. Eight Plenty Coups High
School students, all members of the Crow Tribe, will present
a program of Crow culture that has won them both state and
national FFA
American Indian Program awards for the past
three years. The event, which is open to the public,
includes tepee construction, traditional Crow style drum
dancing, and a ‘hands on’ discussion of Native American diet
- including the opportunity for the audience to purchase
Indian tacos. Activities begin at 11 a.m.
Laura Moore, FFA advisor to the Plenty Coups
FFA Chapter, is also the agriculture teacher at Plenty Coups
High School. She said her FFA students do all the research
and preparation for the demonstrations, including talking
with tribal elders and searching for information on the net
to prepare a program for audiences of all ages that promotes
Indian culture associated with agriculture. The resulting
program, said Moore, has students giving power point
lectures on Native American culture, demonstrating
traditional dance and music, and gaining a better
understanding and appreciation of their Crow heritage:
“These kids
are proud of who they are and where they are from. The work
they do to compete in the FFA American Indian Program
competition has given them a new-found confidence and
ability to value their Crow culture and talk about it before
very large audiences like the National FFA convention in
Indianapolis, as well as small groups such as students in
schools around Montana.”
Moore said several schools around the state
are bringing students to the tepee raising at the Bair
Museum on May 2, including those from Lavina, Ryegate,
Harlowton and White Sulphur Springs. She credits growing
interest in American Indian culture by area schools partly
to Montana’s Indian Education
for All implementation,
authorized by the 2005 Montana Legislature to provide
funding to develop in Montana
students an understanding of American and
Montana Indian people and their histories, as well as
fostering respect for their respective cultures
The tepee construction ceremony
is just one of many special events taking place at or near
the Bair Family Museum this summer. Other activities include
rodeos, a Woolgrowers campout, the second annual Wind
Festival, art shows, Shakespeare in the Park, and a book
festival. The museum, located between White Sulphur Springs
and Harlowton, is open every summer, 10 am to 5 pm,
Wednesday through Sunday between May 1 and September 30, and
10 am to 5 pm, seven days a week between Memorial Day and
Labor Day. The Bair Family Museum is managed by the Upper
Musselshell Historic Society in Harlowton and financially
supported by the Charles M. Bair Family Trust Board of
Advisors.
For more information, call (406)
572-3314, or visit the website,
info@bairfamilymuseum.org. |
