Montana Reins in Wide Open
Spaces: The Yellowstone Heritage Partnership
The Partners
Western
Heritage Center
Billings, MT www.ywhc.org Located
in Montana’s largest city, this museum interprets
and reflects life in the Yellowstone River Valley.
Crow Nation
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Washington,
DC www.imls.gov
National Endowment for the Humanities
Washington,
DC www.neh.fed.us
National Park Service, Rivers, Trails and Conservation
Assistance Program Washington, DC http://www.ncrc.nps.gov/rtca/
Rivers
and Trails serves as a community resource of the NPS by offering
expertise to local groups trying to revitalize nearby
rivers, preserve valuable open spaces, and develop local trail
and greenway networks. Yellowstone National Park, Little Bighorn
National Battlefield and Monument, and Fort Union National Historic
Fort are the three primary National Parks in the Yellowstone
region.
Northern Cheyenne Nation
Travel Montana
Helena, MT www.travel.state.mt.us The
state tourism office is a division of the Montana Department
of Commerce.
University of Montana, Center for the Rocky Mountain
West www.crmw.org
U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Agency
Washington,
D.C. http://www.doc.gov/eda/
The Setting
The vast watershed of the Yellowstone River
covers portions of Montana, North Dakota,
and Wyoming, as well as large areas of
federally managed land, including Custer,
Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests, and the
Northern Cheyenne and Crow Indian Reservations.
It is a region flush with historic, cultural, and
natural resources. Because of a depressed economy, sparse infrastructure,
and expensive transportation
costs due to long distances between attractions,
the area is looking for ways to develop cultural
tourism programs that will build on its unique
features and attract some of Yellowstone National
Park’s 3 million annual visitors.
The Yellowstone River Valley is a wide open space with big legends
to match. Visual records, stories, art, and lore persist even
hundreds of years after Native Americans traversed the wide plains,
hunting buffalo for survival. After white trappers and coal miners
took freely from the land. After ranchers settled in the grassy
prairies and cowboys came along to tend their huge herds of cattle.
After armies came and fought and left behind a scarred land and
population. The legacies of all this history reside in the scores
of sites, museums, and parks throughout the region that range
from the world-famous Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument
to Makoshika State Park in Glendive.
Just like the place and its past, tourism in Montana can be
big. But the open spaces and charm that make the state what it
is also present challenges for tourism. The Pictograph Caves
National Park near Billings features 4,500-year-old cave drawings.
Over near Ekalaka is Medicine Rocks State Park, where other prehistoric
remnants—huge irregular-shaped masses of sandstone—jut
high
above the grassy plains. Must-see sites, both. But you’re
looking at a 260-mile journey. And that’s in only one part
of the state.
With minuscule annual budgets and one- or two-person staffs,
some of these cultural attractions are hurting, unable to market
to tourists or even effectively communicate with rural in-state
audiences. One of the biggest museums in Montana—with five
full-time staff people—is the Western Heritage Center (WHC)
in Billings. “
We figured since we were a museum charged with interpreting a
huge region, maybe we could play a central
role in overcoming the state’s tourism challenges,” says
Lynda Bourque Moss, WHC executive director.
With a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH), the center began an extensive research and interpretive
project involving other historical, arts, and cultural facilities
in Montana as well as humanities scholars and community representatives. “We
invited everyone we could think of with a stake in the Yellowstone
region’s cultural preservation,” says Moss.
Fifty people accepted and together the consortium created the
first long-term exhibit, Our Place in the West: Places, Pasts
and Images of the Yellowstone Region from 1880-1940. An extension
of that exhibit was a series of NEH-funded public Gatherings,
which featured scholars who made presentations at museums and
cultural sites in small rural communities in the Yellowstone
region. Publications including Along the Yellowstone: A Guide
to Historic Sites in the Yellowstone Region provided other ways
to interpret the project’s themes.
“Through our research and the work with the map and narrative
guide for Along the Yellowstone, we became aware of the wealth
of sites and stories in the region,” Moss says. “It
became clear to us that what we needed was a way to coordinate
educational activities and develop regional marketing campaigns
to benefit the sites as well as the communities.”
“Yellowstone Heritage Partnership
works to promote the Yellowstone River Valley as a place
valued for its life; communities that respect the region’s
natural and cultural heritage and consider these values
in their developmental projects; a region with a sustainable
economy that offers opportunities for growth and employment
while managing change; and a people that cooperate through
the free exchange of ideas and develop consensus.” — Yellowstone
Heritage Partnership vision statement
What Happened Next
The WHC, with planning assistance from the National Park Service’s
(NPS) Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (Rivers and
Trails) program, hosted a conference of representatives of cultural,
historic, and natural resource sites, community representatives,
elected officials, educators, and representatives of the Crow
and Northern Cheyenne nations to discuss the establishment of
a heritage area. Agreeing to work together to protect and promote
the Yellowstone River Valley’s natural and
cultural heritages toward a sustainable economy, the 40 attendees
from communities in Montana, northern Wyoming, and western North
Dakota created the Yellowstone Heritage Partnership (YHP)
in 1996.
To explain its purpose and goals to the public and gather ideas
from citizens, the partnership hosted 10 meetings in the spring
of 1997. Facilitated by Rivers and Trails, the meetings were
held simultaneously in small communities in the three-state region.
The outcome of the meetings came together in YHP’s first
major project, “Explore the Yellowstone!” This traveling
exhibit—funded with grants from NPS, National Endowment
for the Arts (NEA), local governments, the WHC and private trusts
and foundations—presents the cultural, historic, and natural
resources in the region through historic and contemporary photographs,
oral histories, interpretive text, and student art. It is hauled
in a stock trailer to places where people gather: rodeos, fairs,
pow-wows, shopping malls, libraries, and museums.
YHP developed two electronic field trips aimed at sixth graders,
which takes armchair travelers on an e-journey to Chief Plenty
Coups State Park and Museum and Pictograph Cave State Park and
National Landmark. These parks are open to the public only during
the summer months, but through cyberspace, their wonders can
be shared with virtual visitors all year, all the time. Funded
by a Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library
Services, each e-field trip website
gets more than 2,000 monthly
hits from online visitors.
In 1999, through an Economic Development Agency grant, the Yellowstone
Heritage Partnership conducted a survey of the economic impact
and potential for cultural tourism in the Yellowstone region.
Based on visitor surveys and other data analysis, the partners
planned a humanities-based series
of exhibits, entitled “Living in Modern Times,” which
includes a long-term exhibit at the WHC and at satellite sites
like highway rest stops and chambers of commerce.
Regional outreach continued in 2000 as the partnership began
developing cultural loop tours, modeled after the popular Heritage
Craft Tours produced by Hand-made in America in Asheville, N.C.,
in which traditional crafts and arts are highlighted. An NEA-FS
Arts and Rural Community Assistance Grant allowed Montanans to
visit North Carolina to
learn more. The partnership plans to
publish a guidebook and accompanying CD-ROM and website.
Making the Most of Opportunities
Collaborate: Power
in numbers proves itself in Montana. Individual museums, parks,
and other cultural attractions were often unable
to secure funding, but as a collective have been able to get
the attention of larger foundations and apply successfully for
grants. The effort has crossed not only organizational, but state
lines as well, going into North Dakota and Wyoming.
Find
the Fit between the Community and Tourism: Investigating
local customs is one thing, but visitors should be aware of and
sensitive to the etiquette of looking closely at other cultures.
At the annual Crow Fair, the WHC staffs an interpretive teepee
with a Native American employee. The teepee serves as the official
greeting site for all non-native people at the fair,
helping them better understand
the tribe’s traditions to enhance
the experience and ensure respect
for the Crow culture.
Make
Sites and Programs Come Alive: Through its “Museum
without Walls” program, the WHC provides
interactive experiences outside the museum itself. One popular
tour is “Ethnobotany on Horseback,” a
program presented on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. Native
guides from the Cheyenne Trail Riders
outfitting business lead horseback tours and teach guests about
the uses of local plants for physical and spiritual healing.
Focus
on Quality and Authenticity: Going directly to the
source is required for authenticity when creating cultural
programs. For its loop tours, WHC is inventorying authentic folk
culture in the region. Traditional artists, craftspeople,
and folk artists, such as saddle-makers,
fly-tiers, gunsmiths, and quilt-makers are among those who will
be featured.
Preserve
and Protect Resources: Guided tours of significant
historical and archeological sites in the Yellowstone River Valley
provide opportunities not only for tourists, but also for the
sites’ stewards, who can carefully control the extent and
type of
visitation each site receives in order to
protect it from overuse or undue deterioration. Another Museum
without Walls tour is led by Crow oral and cultural historian,
Lawrence Flatlip, who takes visitors to
several historic sites on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations,
including Pictograph Caves, Medicine Rock, and Village Under
Siege. Flatlip indicates where picture taking is permissible
and restricted, and explains the conservation methods employed
to protect the sites.
Results
The “Explore the Yellowstone!” exhibit has
been in 15 communities
in the three-state region and has been seen by more than 20,000
people.
Through that exhibit and the partnership’s other
activities, the public
has developed an increased awareness about the economic benefits
of cultural tourism and the potential to strengthen existing
sites through collaboration
and cooperation.
The YHP numbers more than 40 people from the Yellowstone
region who represent both public and private interests.
The partners have successfully secured almost $200,000
in grants
for sites of all sizes and natures in
the past five years.
In recent years, a number of national and regional organizations
have established offices or are working in the Yellowstone region,
including the Nature Conservancy, American Rivers, and the Yellowstone
River Conservation District Council.
Western
Heritage Center
The vast watershed of the Yellowstone River
covers portions of Montana, North Dakota,
and Wyoming, as well as large areas of
federally managed land, including Custer,
Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests, and the
Northern Cheyenne and Crow Indian Reservations.
It is a region flush with historic, cultural, and
natural resources. Because of a depressed economy, sparse infrastructure,
and expensive transportation
costs due to long distances between attractions,
the area is looking for ways to develop cultural
tourism programs that will build on its unique
features and attract some of Yellowstone National
Park’s 3 million annual visitors.
With minuscule annual budgets and one- or two-person staffs,
some of these cultural attractions are hurting, unable to market
to tourists or even effectively communicate with rural in-state
audiences. One of the biggest museums in Montana—with five
full-time staff people—is the Western Heritage Center (WHC)
in Billings. “
We figured since we were a museum charged with interpreting a
huge region, maybe we could play a central
role in overcoming the state’s tourism challenges,” says
Lynda Bourque Moss, WHC executive director.
To explain its purpose and goals to the public and gather ideas
from citizens, the partnership hosted 10 meetings in the spring
of 1997. Facilitated by Rivers and Trails, the meetings were
held simultaneously in small communities in the three-state region.
The outcome of the meetings came together in YHP’s first
major project, “Explore the Yellowstone!” This traveling
exhibit—funded with grants from NPS, National Endowment
for the Arts (NEA), local governments, the WHC and private trusts
and foundations—presents the cultural, historic, and natural
resources in the region through historic and contemporary photographs,
oral histories, interpretive text, and student art. It is hauled
in a stock trailer to places where people gather: rodeos, fairs,
pow-wows, shopping malls, libraries, and museums. 
Collaborate: Power
in numbers proves itself in Montana. Individual museums, parks,
and other cultural attractions were often unable
to secure funding, but as a collective have been able to get
the attention of larger foundations and apply successfully for
grants. The effort has crossed not only organizational, but state
lines as well, going into North Dakota and Wyoming.
Find
the Fit between the Community and Tourism: Investigating
local customs is one thing, but visitors should be aware of and
sensitive to the etiquette of looking closely at other cultures.
At the annual Crow Fair, the WHC staffs an interpretive teepee
with a Native American employee. The teepee serves as the official
greeting site for all non-native people at the fair,
helping them better understand
the tribe’s traditions to enhance
the experience and ensure respect
for the Crow culture.
Make
Sites and Programs Come Alive: Through its “Museum
without Walls” program, the WHC provides
interactive experiences outside the museum itself. One popular
tour is “Ethnobotany on Horseback,” a
program presented on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. Native
guides from the Cheyenne Trail Riders
outfitting business lead horseback tours and teach guests about
the uses of local plants for physical and spiritual healing.
Focus
on Quality and Authenticity: Going directly to the
source is required for authenticity when creating cultural
programs. For its loop tours, WHC is inventorying authentic folk
culture in the region. Traditional artists, craftspeople,
and folk artists, such as saddle-makers,
fly-tiers, gunsmiths, and quilt-makers are among those who will
be featured.
Preserve
and Protect Resources: Guided tours of significant
historical and archeological sites in the Yellowstone River Valley
provide opportunities not only for tourists, but also for the
sites’ stewards, who can carefully control the extent and
type of
visitation each site receives in order to
protect it from overuse or undue deterioration. Another Museum
without Walls tour is led by Crow oral and cultural historian,
Lawrence Flatlip, who takes visitors to
several historic sites on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations,
including Pictograph Caves, Medicine Rock, and Village Under
Siege. Flatlip indicates where picture taking is permissible
and restricted, and explains the conservation methods employed
to protect the sites.
The “Explore the Yellowstone!” exhibit has
been in 15 communities
in the three-state region and has been seen by more than 20,000
people. 
