56 Counties

For the past few months, there has been a great deal of turmoil amongst the tribal council for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. I had the opportunity to speak with Melissa Lonebear, one of the members of the tribal council who has been locked out of her office for the past few weeks, along with seven other members of the council. To help bring some perspective on what's going on, I also brought in John Robinson, former Chief Judge of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

Granville Stuart was perhaps one of the most influential figures in the 'settlement' of Montana. He and his brother James were the first to record a major gold strike, he was a founding member of the Montana Historical Society, he served as president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, and he was the director of the Butte Public Library for ten years.

In 1979, an army of people took over the Outlaw Inn in Kalispell, Montana, led by a man who had just won two Academy Awards for what would eventually become known as the pinnacle of his career: The Deer Hunter. Michael Cimino would spend the next eight months shooting a film that sent one of the most highly respected film studios into bankruptcy. Heaven's Gate is considered to this day one of the biggest financial disasters in the history of film, despite some of the most stunning scenery ever brought to the screen.

The West has a complicated history when it comes to its African American population, but it is estimated that at least 25 percent of the early cowboys in the West were Black.

Once he retired from Naval Intelligence as a Captain after nearly thirty years, Ken Robison spent the last thirty-plus years establishing himself as one of Montana's preeminent historians. His new book, Lost Great Falls, explores many forgotten stories about one of the more fascinating towns in Montana.

Fort Missoula was built in 1877, in part because of fear among the settlers in that region of the Native American population. However, it was also built as an economic opportunity, creating jobs for locals.

In February of 1918, the Montana Legislature was the first in the nation to pass The Sedition Act, a law that carried fines of up to $20,000 and a jail sentence of up to 20 years if someone were to “print, utter, or publish . . . any false, scandalous or malicious writing’” about the U.S. government or the war effort.

This month, Russell Rowland reads excerpts from his upcoming new memoir, BE A MAN: Raised in the Shadow of Cowboys. The book is a personal history of his family, but it also explores the complexity of what it means to grow up as a man in Montana.

Kevin Kicking Woman grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation as the youngest of fifteen children. After his mother left the family, he was shuttled around to various foster families, where he suffered horrific trauma.After a stint in the military and working hard to get his teaching degree in Missoula, Kevin moved back to the reservation about ten years ago for a teaching job, and last year he was the first Native American to be named Teacher of the Year in Montana.

Evelyn Cameron left behind an aristocratic life in England to homestead in Montana in the late 19th Century. Despite being married to a man who had some of the worst business sense imaginable, she embraced life in eastern Montana, starting three cattle ranches and becoming one of the most beloved members in the community of Terry.