Three distinct cultures converged in the Crown of the Continent region long before David Thompson and Meriwether Lewis first tread ancient Indian trails across these mountains, prairies and valleys. With distinct languages and traditions, how did these first peoples relate to each other and to the land? And what is their story today in this place that they still inhabit?
Those questions will be the focus of a public conversation between tribal elders of the Ktunaxa/Kootenai, Salish-Pend d’Oreille and Blackfoot Confederacy on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. The program, “First Peoples, Two Countries, Three Voice: 10,000 Years of Human History in the Crown of the Continent,” will open a month-long Crown of the Continent Lecture Series presented by Flathead Valley Community College.
The cultural leaders at the Sept. 15 program include:
• Tony Incashola, Director of the Salish-Pend d’Oreille Cultural Committee
• Vernon Finley, Kootenai Cultural Instructor, Salish-Kootenai College
• Herman Many Guns, Piikani Nation Elder, Alberta
The three tribal cultures historically and to this day transcend the international border that divided their traditional territories. The Interior Salish people include nearly two dozen closely related nations or bands in Montana, British Columbia, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The Ktunaxa people, also known as the Kootenai in Idaho and Montana, have long occupied the Rocky Mountains and the upper Columbia valleys on both sides of the border. And the Blackfoot Confederacy, historically separated into four closely related bands, includes the Blackfeet Nation in Montana and the Piikani, Siksiska, and Kainai or Blood nations in Alberta.
FVCC’s Crown of the Continent Lecture Series will continue through Oct. 6. The four evening programs will be held in the FVCC Arts & Technology Building, Room 139 at 7 p.m. All are free and open to the public.
Speaker series schedule:
Monday, Sept. 21, “The Crown Region: Setting the Stage” with Dr. James Byrne, Chairman, Department of Geography at the University of Lethbridge,
Saturday, September 26 Field Trip, “Along the Buffalo Cow Trail: History and Ecology in the Transboundary Flathead Valley,” led by Lex Blood, retired FVCC Geology Professor, and Steve Thompson of the National Parks Conservation Association and editor of www.crownofthecontinent.net The field trip cost is $65. Call (406)756-3832 to register or for more information.
Tuesday, Sept. 29, “Defining the Ecology of the Crown of the Continent,” with Dr. Chris Servheen, a wildlife conservation professor at the University of Montana and grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Tuesday, October 6, “Seeing Across the Rockies: Reaching for Montana 1787-1812,” with Jack Nesbit, author of “Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson across Western North America.”