Program Description
In this 90-minute hands-on workshop, facilitator Sally Thompson shares her treasure trove of primary documents from Montana history to facilitate more nuanced and respectful understandings than are commonly held. We will explore short historical narratives, artwork, and maps, from places we know, with an eye toward understanding how our viewpoints have been shaped by those who have controlled the pen. In small groups, participants will discuss perceptions and work together to tell the story from a different point of view to be shared with the whole group. The mode of expression will be at the discretion of each group. The geographical focus can be tailored to the various regions of Montana.
Presenter Bio
Anthropologist Sally Thompson is an experienced workshop leader whose career in the Rocky Mountains and American Southwest has spanned more than four decades. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in 1980, the same year she moved to Missoula. She has worked as an archaeologist, ethnohistorian, educator, filmmaker, and tribal consultant and collaborator. Her 2015 book, People Before the Park (Montana Historical Society), was a collaboration with the Kootenai Culture Committee and the Pikunni Traditionalist Association of the Blackfeet Tribe. She has two books to be released in 2024: Disturbing the Sleeping Buffalo: 23 Unexpected Stories that Awaken Montana’s Past (Farcountry Press) and Black Robes enter Coyote’s World (Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press). Sally enjoys engaging people in the rich fabric of Montana’s cultures and histories.
Contact
Sally Thompson
oldtrails@gmail.com
