Bair Family Museum Opens May 1^st

Teepee Raising Ceremony Friday May 8, 2009

THE PERFECT MONTANA DAY TRIP!

Bair Family Museum Open in May Wednesday through Sunday

The grass is green and the trees are budding and the Bair Family Museum in Martinsdale opened May 1^st for the season!  Everyone is invited to walk the grounds, bring a picnic lunch, tour the house, enjoy learning about the Bair Family and area history in the Visitor’s Center, and check out all the new items in the gift shop. Visitors may also want to plan on attending some of the exciting events scheduled for the summer, starting with a celebration of Crow culture on May 8^th. The award-winning Plenty Coups High School Chapter of FFA students will present a Teepee Raising and Crow cultural awareness event on the grounds of the historic Bair family home. Activities start at 11 am on Friday, May 8, 2009.

Under the guidance of Laura Moore, agriculture teacher with Plenty Coups High School and advisor to the Plenty Coups Chapter of FFA, Plenty Coups students involved in the FFA have won state and national awards promoting Indian culture associated with agriculture.

The museum is honored to have this opportunity to continue the Bair family’s long-standing support of Crow culture and history. After coming to Montana in 1883 as a conductor on the Northern Pacific Railroad, Charles M. Bair became one of the most successful sheep ranchers in the world. He ranched for many years on the Crow Reservation and Chief Plenty Coups was a close friend. Among the Native American artifacts on display in the museum’s Pine Room is a small beaded vest given to Alberta Bair when she was about six years old by Chief Plenty Coups.

Chief Plenty Coups also presented Alberta a most unusual gift, one that is returning for display in the Pine Room after a long absence: a miniature teepee or lodge that is believed to have been made in the late 19^th century for a young Cheyenne girl. It is a small model of a lodge of the Cheyenne’s sacred Quilling Society, and one of the most unique artifacts in the Bair family’s eclectic collection. The museum’s Director and Curator Elizabeth Guheen states that “the return of Alberta’s teepee for display in the family home during the week of this year’s annual Crow Teepee Raising ceremony is an exciting event for the staff and for the citizens of Martinsdale. Together, the teepee and the vest Chief Plenty Coups gave Alberta Bair represent not only the heart of the collection. For many they represent the family’s legacy and their amazing generosity towards the state of Montana.”

The Plenty Coups FFA Chapter Teepee raising starts at 11 a.m. and is open to the public. Tours of the Bair Family Museum are available for $5 with discounts for seniors and children. Traditional Indian tacos and beverages will be available at the Martinsdale community center following the ceremony.

The Bair Family Museum is located on Highway 12 between Harlowton and White Sulphur Springs and is open May 1 through September 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The last museum tour of the day is scheduled for 4 p.m. In May and most of September the museum is open Wednesday through Sundays and closed Monday and Tuesday. From Memorial Day May 25^th through Labor Day September 7^th the museum is open seven days a week.  For further information call 406.572.3314 or visit the website at www.bairfamilyhome.org.