In 1959, Montana native, NBC News anchor, and 1993 inductee into the inaugural class of the MBA Hall of Fame, Chet Huntley made this recording for the 10th Anniversary of the Montana Broadcasters Association.

Women have always been actors in Montana’s history. Martha Kohl, Montana Historical Society historical specialist, surveys the role of Montana women beginning with the campaign for women’s suffrage. She then explores the diverse experiences of Montana’s women, how their lives intersected with larger historical trends and how the choices they made shaped their communities.

Humanities Montana Executive Director Ken Egan examines the newly created Montana Territory as a battleground of national aspirations: Native American tribes, Union true believers, and Confederate sympathizers. Egan reveals these clashing national visions—which, as a result of the gold rush, were brought into collision by a rapid influx of emigrants from all parts of the United States—by focusing on paired historical figures: Gad E. Upson and Bull Lodge; Sidney Edgerton and Mary Ronan; Pretty-shield and Crazy Horse; Sitting Bull and Alfred Sully; and Pamelia and James Fergus.

Ken Soderberg explores the rise of the State Park idea on a national level and then focuses on the development of the State Park system in Montana. Soderberg—who is the Interpretation and Volunteer Program Specialist for Montana State Parks—discusses key individuals, civic organizations, federal programs, local issues, state legislators, and state legislation that influenced the growth of the system.

Dr. Janet Finn, Professor of Social Work at the University of Montana, examines the contributions of Alma Higgins. Higgins, a leader in Montana’s woman’s club movement, lobbied for the establishment of the School of Forestry at the University of Montana, actively promoted community forestry, and campaigned for Arbor Day programs in Montana public schools. She faced her biggest challenge when, in 1920, she moved to Butte, where she launched a campaign for city beautification, toured the state promoting urban gardens, and became host of a weekly radio show.

By the 1860s Helena was at the center of a network of toll roads that were critical to the mining camp. Montana Department of Transportation historian Jon Axline takes you on a trip over the Benton and Frenchwoman’s Roads and explain their significance to Montana’s history 150 years ago.

Dr. Timothy LeCain, Associate Professor of History at Montana State University, explores the role that material factors—exemplified by copper—have played in shaping cultures and societies. His discussion develops the thesis that the sociocultural convergence between mining regions in the United States and Japan was to a significant degree a result of the copper deposits both nations possessed and aggressively developed.

Dr. Rosalyn LaPier (Blackfeet/Métis), faculty in the Environmental Studies program at the University of Montana—along with Environmental Studies graduate student Anne Grant (Blackfeet/Gros Ventre)—discuss the multiple relationships that Native people had with the ancient landscape of this place we now call Montana. For more than 10,000 years, Native Americans were sustained by hunting, fishing, gathering, and their traditional ecological knowledge. This session explores how Native people lived sustainably and shaped their ecosystems.

Historian and fiscal analyst with the Legislative Fiscal Division (LFD), Dr. Stephen Forrest examines how the role of the LFD—which was founded in the wake of the 1972 Constitutional Convention—has evolved from budget accountants to legislative policy consultants, emerging as a fundamental shaper of Montana government and society.

Dr. Jennifer Hill, who completed her PhD in American Studies at Montana State University in 2013, shares her research into Birth under the Big Sky. Drawing on oral histories and archival research throughout Montana,Hill uses the experiences of a wide range of Montana women to describe the unique conditions of birth in Montana, the troubling consequences of rural reproduction, and the adaptations and resilience of women and families throughout Montana history.