2025 Grants Awarded

Homestead Holiday, Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT, $650. Taking place in the Tinsley house, the Museum of the Rockies’ 1890s homestead, the Homestead Holiday celebrates holiday traditions of Montana from 1890-1925. Programming will explore and bring to life the shared history and experiences of Montana homesteaders while also sharing and encouraging learning about other traditions such as Indigenous winter traditions with research and interpretation provided by members of the Métis tribe and an educator with extensive Indigenous cultural knowledge.

Book Launch event for Black Robes Enter Coyote’s World by Sally Thompson, Missoula Art Museum, Missoula, MT, $1,300. The Missoula Art Museum hosted the launch of Sally Thompson’s new book, Black Robes Enter Coyote’s World, on December 18, 2024, alongside a pop-up exhibit showcasing newly discovered 1850s drawings from western Montana. The event will explore the history of the Bitterroot Salish, focusing on their interactions with Father De Smet and the contrasting values between Native American and Euro-American cultures, featuring Salish elders, language, and previously unseen historic artwork. This free event, supported by Humanities Montana, aims to deepen public understanding of the Salish people’s history and heritage.

Queer In and Out of Montana, Western Montana LGBTQ+ Community Center, Missoula, MT, $2,000. Queer In and Out of Montana is an oral history project that captures the stories of LGBTIQ+ people who have left Montana or who are contemplating doing so. The project is a collaboration between the Western Montana LGBTQ+ Community Center (WMCC) and students, faculty, and alumni of the University of Montana.

Annual Youth Concert: Saint-Georges’ Sword & Bow, Helena Symphony, Helena, MT, $2,000. The Annual Youth Concert will bring 2,000 4th and 5th grade students from more than 17 elementary schools across the region including underserved communities to an education concert rich in humanities content in partnership with Classical Kids Live. Students in attendance will directly benefit from this program, and for many, it will be their first time in a concert hall and accessing humanities content surrounding the historical context and culture of pre-revolution France and the impact this landscape had on Joseph Bologne’s life and music.

York: Explorer on the Lewis and Clark expedition, Chouteau County Library Foundation, Fort Benton, MT, $2,000. Fort Benton Branch Library will host a unique living history program featuring author, historian, and performer Hasan Davis in a production of “The Journey of York: The Unsung Hero of the Lewis and Clark Expedition” on February 10, 2025, at the Montana Agricultural Museum.