Ninepipes Museum

of Early Montana History

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LOCAL MUSEUM COMPLETES COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT THROUGH A FEDERAL HUMANITIES GRANT

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Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana completes collection preservation assessment activities funded through a grant award from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Charlo, MT – The Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana was recently awarded a “Preservation Assistance for Small Institutions” grant in the amount of $5,775 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). This grant spanned an 18-month period and allowed the museum to contract with Pat Roath of Specialty Museum Services out of Kalispell, to conduct a general preservation assessment of the institution’s 2000+ objects and cultural items.

“The assessment and completed facility and infrastructure updates are far reaching and have been a catalyst for enhanced preservation techniques and expanded local dialogue related to the cultures, items and history represented in the collection.” Dr. Suzanne Shope, Project Director and Collections Manager at Ninepipes Museum.

The assessment addressed short and long-term needs of objects and cultural items in the museum’s care and includes a 5-year conservation preventive plan. The grant also funded much needed storage and monitoring materials and culminated with a training and open house to share findings with board and staff, local museums and tribal members. The assessment serves as a comprehensive guide for future museum activities. Three additional grants were awarded by other sources to support the preliminary recommendations.

Jordan Bush, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, intern at the museum and a SKC Tribal Historic Preservation student comments, “The work of proper interpretation, communication with CSKT Cultural Committees, and the educational portion and how it pertains to the public within the museum impacted my knowledge the most and was the part I was passionate about as an intern. These steps within the museum highlighted the bridge between my knowledge from Tribal Historic Preservation studies and the knowledge and experience I have gained interning for the museum.”

Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana is located on the Flathead Indian Reservation just 10 minutes south of Ronan and only 45 minutes north of Missoula on Hwy 93.  It was founded in 1997 by Laurel and Bud Cheff, Jr. who had a strong desire to preserve the culture and history of early Montana and the Salish, Flathead and Pend d’Oreille tribes, though the museum cares for Native objects from across the Nation.  Bud was born and raised in the valley and shares Native and other cultural items and objects collected over a lifetime.  Many other residents and people around the nation have donated items over the last 20 years to make the museum a national treasure.

Jo Cheff, Executive Director of Ninepipes Museum stated at the onset, “We’re very excited, this is one important step needed to ensure good stewardship of our collections….”

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created in 1965 and is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States.  Grants typically go to cultural institutions such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television and radio stations, as well as to individual scholars.  The Endowment awards grants to top-rated proposals examined by a panel of independent, external reviewers and is highly competitive.  Applicants undergo four levels of review before a grant is officially supported.

“We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Pat Roath and representatives from the Selis Qlispe Cultural Committee and the Kootenai Cultural Committee in order to fulfill our mission and move toward a safe, secure museum and a more accurate reflection of history. We are one step closer to ensuring these cultural items will be enjoyed by future generations.” Shope commented. Ninepipes Museum is one of 3 Montana institutions recently announced in December to receive an NEH grant. The Collection Needs Assessment report is available on our website https://ninepipesmuseum.org/news/neh-collections-needs-assessment/

The museum and gift shop will open July 2, 2020 with limited days and hours and will follow Montana State, CSKT, Lake County, and CDC COVID-19 guidelines.

Please call (406) 644-3435 (or email info@ninepipesmuseum.org) for questions.  For more information, go to:  www.ninepipesmuseum.org

 

 

Mountain Bluebird Trails

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IT’S A BLUE BIRD DAY!

We now have a Western Bluebird to add to our exhibit in the diorama room!  We sincerely thank Dale Becker with CSKT Wildlife Management Program for donating the bird, and Pat Jamieson and Mountain Blue Bird Trails for donating funds to have it mounted.  Check out Mountain Bluebird Trails on Facebook or their website, www.mountainbluebirdtrails.com to learn more about their mission!

NEH Collections Needs Assessment

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PDF DownloadREPORT INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT SUMMARY

The application:

This NEH small museum assessment project promised to look at the current situation of all museum objects in the care of the Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana (herein NMEM or simply “the Museum”), both on display and in storage, and to provide recommendations in three areas:
1) Short-term recommendations for items in critical need of conservation and improvements to storage and display;
2) Long-term recommendations for improvements to storage and display areas, including environmental control and monitoring, security, smoke mitigation, ritual care, pest management and disaster planning;
3) Evaluation of policy and practices relating to collection management and security, and plans for long-term loan acquisition.
These recommendations were to be assessed in three site visits, and prioritized into a report that essentially comprises a long-range preventive conservation plan.
Finally, the application promised visits with board and staff, tribal members and representatives, and with members of the local museum and preservation community, to explain the project and promote sharing interests and resources in the preservation of local material culture.

This report

During the site visits and in communications with NMEM staff, the consultant attempted to look at all aspects of museum practice and operations. This reflects the view of the consultant that the collections are the source and focus of any museum, and therefore drive everything a museum is and does. A museum’s operations revolve around its mission, and its mission is grounded firmly in the collection that created the need for both the museum and its mission.

The consultant’s comments regarding governance, community outreach, and education/interpretation are made from a collections preservation point of view, keeping in mind:

• Exhibits need to present well-researched information in a way that is clear and appealing to the public.
• Objects must be exhibited, stored and used in ways that protect their physical integrity and contribute to their long-term preservation.
• Objects must be kept and exhibited in a way that is respectful of the culture or person from which the object came, and of the spiritual qualities embodied in the object itself.
• Each museum must write and enact policy and methods that meet professional standards, but also that meet the needs of its operations within its community.

Site visits and results

The recommendations in this report stem directly from the site visits, conducted in the spring of 2019. Three site visits were initially planned but only two were necessary, along with communication by telephone and email, to gather needed information. During the site visits, the consultant met individually with each staff member involved with the collections, as well as the board president, the founder, and Salish/Kalispel (Pend O’reille) and Kootenai cultural representatives.

This report does not include descriptions of the final workshops and informational meetings with staff, tribal members and other museums that culminated the project, though it does contain their recommendations. The consultant intends that those meetings will open or widen doors to positive relationships between NMEM and other area stakeholders. Museums are community spaces, and positive community relationships are critical to the longevity of any museum. Small, geographically close museums with similar missions can share resources and information to the benefit of all collaborators and their stakeholders.

Read the full report here: