of Early Montana History
Tracey Rider is Assiniboine from Wolf Point, and got her secret fabulous frybread recipe from a friend. Her friend, the fierce guardian of this secret recipe which was passed down to her by her great aunt, made Tracey sign a pact declaring that if she ever gave away or changed the recipe she would get her eyes poked out.
So, please, for her sake don’t ask Tracey to share the secrets of their frybread—just enjoy the result!
Laurie Child’s Photography Artist Bio
www.Lauriechildsphotography.com
Growing up in Montana gave me a fondness for the West and its people. Traveling for work as an environmental scientist has taken me to some stunning places to study the biology and geology. What I have realized is land without people is just that—land. Photography allows me to link people and emotions with the land that makes the West distinct. Through the camera, my heart comes home. My lens and spirit fell for the wild culture of the West, it’s welcoming communities, and their gritty work ethic. Honoring that connection and the love others have for this region is the centerpiece of my work.
My latest personal project involves gold leaf gilding images I captured of the West. Creating iconographic images from our natural world and cultures.
My name is Jim Thomason and I am a long-time Montana artist. I started out my career doing pencil drawings, moved into watercolors, and in the last few years have transitioned into oil painting. I specialize in western art; featuring Native Americans, Cowboys, both historical and contemporary. I also include military, western landscapes and wildlife. The research of my subject is fun for me and I think the authenticity of my work makes it more appealing, more real for the viewer. Whether it is the correct hat or hairstyle, moccasin pattern or headdress, saddle or gun, for me, the correct details make the painting.
Over the years I have been an award-winning artist and have participated in art shows from Minnesota to Arizona and all points in between. I am now discovering the fun and joy of a new challenge in oils. It has opened up a whole new aspect of painting for me and I am excited to share my work with the viewing public.
My wife and I recently moved to Arlee, Montana with our 2 horses, 2 dogs and a cat. We are enjoying our home in the Jocko Valley and are in the process of opening up a small studio/gallery at our residence on Highway 93. Please stop in Western Artworks Studio and Galley and visit us.
CHARLO – Ninepipes Museum will be celebrating the end of the summer season with our September 3rd First Saturdays event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Jim Thomason, is an award winning artist whose work depicts both contemporary and historical western scenes with bold, clean lines, movement and an expansive sense of the Big Sky Country.
Laurie Child’s photography states unapologetically, “This is in-your-face-life and it is gritty, amazing, poignant and no-frills beautiful.”
Guitarist Richard Tobel is a long-time friend of the museum who will play his own brand of old-time favorites, so please join us to hear this very special guest musician express nine decades of life through music from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Tracey Rider and the Frybread Ladies will be back with their amazing fry bread and Indian tacos from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Grab yours early, before it sells out!
Be sure to mark your calendar for this special event! The museum is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Labor Day weekend. We will be closed Sundays through Tuesdays after Labor Day.
For more information call (406) 644-3435, or check out our website ninepipesmuseum.org.
Ninepipes Museum currently has on display several items used and made by the Mollman brothers, Louie and Charley, as well as two items made by Louie’s daughter, Mary Katherine. To learn more about the Mollman family, click here.
This rawhide war shield was made by Louie and is on loan at the museum from Bud Cheff, Jr. “The cross on it represents his strong Christian medicine. It also has his Indian medicine on it” according to Bud Cheff, Jr. It was given to Bud’s father by Louie, who always called him his “little Canadian Cousin” because their family had both come from Canada. Also on display are the bow and arrows belonging to his brother, Charley Mollman, on loan from Joe McDonald.
Although she had no children of her own, Mary Katherine (1874-1952), daughter of Louie and Philomie Mollman, “liked children and liked to tease and scare them as well as making gifts for them” says Bud Cheff, Jr. Click here to see a pair of child’s moccasins she made for Bill Engler when he was 3, and to the right is a coin purse she made for his uncle, Clarence Landquist (1912-1999).
Finally, these star-patterned beaded moccasins belonged to Louie Mollman and were also a gift to the Cheff family before Louie passed away in 1929. The cut of the shoe is the traditional style found so often on the Flathead Reservation with no seam on the insole. The beadwork on these moccasins is meticulously placed using the spot-stitch method commonly used by Plateau tribes. Although it is called the star design, the two-toned color gives it an almost three-dimensional look.
“Star” designs such as these are seen on other Salish beadwork among flowers, as though part of a bouquet. What else do you see? Note the blue line connecting the star (or flower?) to the ‘ground’ or the wearer. What does the symbol on these shoes represent that its maker would want the wearer to stay connected to? Could it be a spiritual connection, or maybe a connection to the past or where they came from (knowing they had roots in Canada)? One can only imagine the possibilities of the true meaning behind this thoughtful beadwork.
Masterfully designed and crafted beadwork is not just beautiful. It tells an important story through its visual imagery, animated by epic narratives that keep timeless and vital beliefs alive.” Author, Lois Sherr Dublin, The Visual Language of Beadwork, 2016 https://www.cowboysindians.com/2016/07/the-visual-language-of-beadwork/
Artist: Jim Thomason
I have been a watercolor artist for over 30 years. I have recently moved into oil painting which I love. My themes are typically western, military, Native American, and wildlife. I enjoy the historical research needed to ensure accuracy in my paintings. My wife and I have recently relocated to the beautiful Jocko Valley in Arlee, Montana where we share a small farm with our 2 horses, 2 dogs and one interesting cat. I am opening a small gallery/studio this summer and hope you will stop in if you are in the area.
A history of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes—and the hands that preserve it.
Why is it so important to preserve the past? Visit Ninepipes Museum to learn about the history.
When the past is so quickly disappearing, see how culture is preserved through beadwork and other important skills and traditions that are passed along to future generations by women. This exhibition includes text and objects from the Museum’s permanent collections and items on loan to the Museum.
Exhibition is available with regular admission to the Museum
