Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana Receives Education Program Grants
It is with deep appreciation that Ninepipes Museum announces the following grant awards:
Both LFVCF and LCTHF grants will support Heritage Explorers, an ongoing cultural field trip program offering immersive, curriculum-aligned experiences that blend tribal and non-tribal perspectives for students and visiting groups. Heritage Explorers will connect youth directly with the histories (especially for early Montana), landscapes, and living traditions of the Flathead Reservation. The program will provide guided tours, cultural demonstrations and hands-on activities for K-12 students, with downloadable content for educators, which will be developed through collaboration with school (tribal/nontribal) educators. Students will explore how Indigenous knowledge and Western exploration intersected to shape the region’s natural and cultural heritage.
The new LFVCF and LCTHF grants will complement a pilot multi-year grant through the Foundation for Montana History, which funds “Resonance, Voices that Shaped the Ninepipes Museum.” Now wrapping up its second year, the project involves pairing and recording elder voices as they connect life stories with the museum collection to create podcasts and student curriculum, which will be incorporated into the Heritage Explorers program. Museum visitors will also be able to listen to the podcasts by scanning museum gallery cards with QR codes. To fulfill this project Ninepipes Museum has partnered with Aspen and Cameron Decker of Xwlxwilt, (Alive and Well) LLC, for content and curriculum creation. The podcasts will ultimately be made available to the public through the Montana State Library.
