Educational Outreach

Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana

Place-Based Learning • Community Voices • Living History

Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana offers educational resources that bring history to life through storytelling, community knowledge, and place-based learning. Located on the Flathead Reservation, the museum honors the intertwined histories of the Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and Kootenai peoples alongside early Montana settlement. Our Educational Outreach materials are designed to support classroom learning, museum visits, and meaningful engagement with local history and living cultures.

Teachers, Start HERE

Download the Resonance Teacher's Curriculum Guide

This downloadable curriculum guide provides educators with four place-based lessons built around the Resonance podcast series, combining listening, reflection, hands-on artmaking, and museum engagement. Teachers will find adaptable classroom activities, listening guides, vocabulary supports, and a structured framework that connects storytelling, Indigenous knowledge, and local history to meaningful student learning.

Learning Library

Expanding the classroom experience through culture,
creativity, and hands-on connection.

The Learning Library is a growing collection of enrichment materials designed to complement the core Resonance curriculum. Here, educators will find culturally grounded demonstration videos, language-integrated lessons, hands-on art and practice tutorials, and adaptable teaching supports that deepen student engagement. These resources are created to offer flexible classroom extensions—bringing living traditions, creative expression, and experiential learning directly into educational spaces. As the library expands, it will continue to provide meaningful tools that strengthen cultural literacy, inspire curiosity, and support measurable educational impact for both teachers and the communities they serve.

Every Story Has A Home

With Bud Cheff Jr & Steve Lozar

In this opening episode, Bud Cheff Jr. and Steve Lozar share personal stories that reveal how memory, community, and lived experience shape the history of the Ninepipes Museum and the Flathead Reservation. Through conversation and reflection, they explore the importance of storytelling in preserving place, identity, and intergenerational knowledge.

Common Ground

With Richard Tobel & Ron Jenkins

In this episode, Richard Tobel and Ron Jenkins reflect on shared histories and relationships that connect community, land, and museum memory. Their conversation explores how different perspectives meet on common ground through storytelling, collaboration, and a deep respect for place.

The Work That Shaped Us

With Wilhemina Wright & Clark Matt

In this episode, Wilhemina Wright and Clark Matt reflect on the work, traditions, and experiences that have shaped their lives and their connection to the Ninepipes Museum. Through personal stories, they explore how labor, culture, and community carry forward knowledge and identity across generations.

Always Teaching

With Joyce Silverthorne & Joyce Decker-Wegner

In this episode, Joyce Silverthorne and Joyce Decker-Wegner reflect on the lifelong role of teaching in preserving culture, memory, and community knowledge. Through personal stories and shared experience, they explore how learning is passed forward and how storytelling continues to shape future generations.

Who These Resources Are For

Teachers and educators (upper elementary through high school)
Students studying Montana history, culture, and storytelling
Schools planning museum visits or cultural learning experiences
Classrooms seeking respectful, place-based educational materials

What’s Included

Educational podcast episodes featuring community voices and oral histories
Downloadable teacher guides with discussion prompts and activities
Creative learning materials that support reflection, listening, and storytelling

Resources may be used independently or in connection with a visit to Ninepipes Museum.

How to Use in the Classroom

Before a Museum Visit

Listen to a podcast episode and discuss whose voices are being shared
Introduce key themes such as place, memory, land, and community
Invite students to generate questions for their visit

After a Visit or Lesson

Reflect through writing, drawing, or discussion
Create a short oral history interview with a family or community member
Explore how learning from lived experience differs from textbooks

Cross-Disciplinary Connections

History & Social Studies: Place-based Montana history, continuity and change
Language Arts: Listening, storytelling, narrative writing
Art: Visual storytelling inspired by history and community
Cultural Studies: Respectful sharing of stories and cultural knowledge

Cultural Respect and Use

All stories and materials are shared with permission and are intended for educational use. Teachers are encouraged to present these resources with respect for cultural context and lived experience.

Connect Learning to the Museum

These materials can be used:

As preparation for a school visit
As follow-up to a museum experience
In classrooms unable to visit in person

To learn more about school visits or guided programs, click HERE

Acknowledgments

Original music for these educational materials was created by Cameron Decker.
Original artwork was created by Aspen Decker.
Their creative contributions enrich the storytelling and learning experiences shared through Ninepipes Museum.

These educational resources will continue to grow as new stories, voices, and classroom materials are added.

Please inquire with Ninepipes Museum to plan your visit by calling (406)644-3435 or emailing info@ninepipesmuseum.org

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

Powered in Part By

Walmart's Spark Good Grant

This educational program is made available in part through a Walmart’s Spark Good Grant to support multi-generational sharing & learning about Flathead Indian Reservation life, culture, and history from its many perspectives, through community outreach, storytelling and history/art activities for children.