Community

Education Program Grant

Awarded By

LFVCF, LCTHF and The Foundation for Montana History

Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana extends sincere gratitude to the Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation, the Burroughs-Holland Education Fund of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, and the Foundation for Montana History for their generous support of our education and cultural programming. These grants make it possible to expand Heritage Explorers and Resonance: Voices that Shaped the Ninepipes Museum, helping connect students and visitors with the rich Indigenous and early Montana histories of the Flathead Reservation. We are deeply thankful for these partnerships and their shared commitment to education, preservation, and living history.

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Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana wants sincerely thank all the generous contributors who donated their time and valuable support.

SparksGood Grant Award

Donated by

Walmart

Thank You, Walmart!

Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana extends heartfelt thanks to Polson Walmart and store manager Dave Tolley for generously awarding the museum a $2,000 Spark Good Local Grant during their grand re-opening event on July 18th.

This donation, made possible by Walmart’s Spark Good program, will support the museum’s efforts to promote cross-cultural sharing and community connections through storytelling, art activities for children, and cultural presentations. Programs will benefit local schools, the Flathead Reservation Boys & Girls Club, and groups of all ages interested in the rich cultural history of our region.

The goal is to encourage multi-generational learning and preserve the voices and stories of Flathead Reservation life, culture, and history from many perspectives.

Thank you, Walmart for investing in the cultural heritage of our local community!

Grant Awarded for 2025

Contributed By

Foundation for Montana History Grant

Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana is excited to announce the completion of year one of a three-part grant through the Foundation for Montana History.  Year one entailed recording the stories of the collection through the voices of people of the Flathead Reservation in collaboration with Aspen and Cameron Decker, educators and owners of Xwlxwilt, LLC., who will develop the recordings into a series of podcast episodes from elder’s interviews in year two of the grant project, integrating Salish language into the audio content, and designing gallery cards and QR codes for museum exhibits.

The project focuses on building and sustaining museum educational programming, with the goal of sharing inter-generational knowledge of the reservation and the museum collection through storytelling, technology, and museum visits while working with schools and community stakeholders to meet community and educational goals.

Ninepipes Museum is deeply grateful to the Foundation for Montana History for providing funds for this multi-year project.

Signage & Event Materials

Donated by

Minuteman Press

Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana would like to thank the talented team at Minuteman Press of Missoula for donating their time and materials for our Heritage Keeper Benefit and for new museum signage for our wildlife diorama!

The beautiful new signs include the Salish and Kootenai words for wildlife depicted in the exhibit and a number system to locate and identify each animal, a project that our staff tackled last season. We want to give a shout out to Rachelle Hewankorn, Brett Myers, and our Collections Curator Amy Webster for their diligent work.

Minuteman Press is also the publisher of our Ninepipes Museum Coloring and Activity Book. Check out this stellar business for your printing, copying and design needs. Thank you, Rebecca, and the Minuteman team!

Sheep Wagon Repairs

Contributed By

Andrew Sheim of Artisan Enterprises

Last year Walmart Spark Good provided the Ninepipes Museum with grant funds to make grounds and outdoor exhibit repairs, which included a new cover for our sheep wagon. Thanks to member donors Roxie and James Davis, and donors at our Heritage Keeper Benefit in May, we are continuing wagon repairs. Craftsman Andrew Sheim of Artisan Enterprises has taken on the task of building a new door and making other repairs on the sheep wagon. 

New Cover from Alpine Tipis

Donated by

Spark Good Local Grant Award

Thanks to raffle ticket purchases and Walmart’s Sparkgood Grant, Ninepipes Museum was able to purchase a custom-made canvas cover for the old sheep wagon from Alpine Tipi’s in Polson.  

Owners Dick Bratton and Sandy Farrell graciously donated their time to deliver and assemble the new cover on the one rainy November day.  The couple also donated rope and re-tied our tipis poles on the nature trail after a summer storm dislodged poles and broke the ties. 

Check out Alpine Tipi’s website at    http://www.alpinetipis.com/

Thank you so much for donating your labor and your expertise Dick and Sandy!

Also, a big thanks to the Polson Walmart for supporting Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana.

Sheep Wagon Repairs

Contributed By

Andrew Sheim of Artisan Enterprises

This summer staff member Rachelle Hewankorn visited Pearl Boba Tea in Missoula.  While she was enjoying a Boba tea or “bubble” tea, Rachelle signed Ninepipes Museum up for their donation drive. Each month Pearl Boba chooses a recommended organization to donate money to–$1.00 per drink sold. The Tea shop sold 175 drinks and so donated $175.00 to Ninepipes Museum.  Thank you for choosing us as your donation recipient Pearl Boba!

More in the Community

The museum is located halfway between Missoula and Kalispell on Highway 93, near the National Bison Range and the Owl Research Institute.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Ninepipes National Wildflife Refuge

A four minute drive from Ninepipes Museum

Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge is a 4,027-acre National Wildlife Refuge and has many outstanding opportunities available for wildlife observation, photography, fishing, hiking, biking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. It was established in 1921 and is in the center of a glacial terminal moraine with a high density of small wetlands and upland grasses.

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Ninepipes Lodge & Allentown Restaurant

Neighboring The Ninepipes Museum

Next door from the Ninepipes Museum is the Ninepipes Lodge and Allentown Restaurant offering comfortable, conveniently located lodging, as well as a restaurant and sports bar. The views from the dining room are breathtaking.

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