Teaching Trunks

The Local Food and Medicine Cabinet trunk is an impressive show and tell of native Montana plants. Park High School students collected fifteen specimens from the area around historic Fort Parker, east of Livingston, and carefully preserved them. Students learn how native peoples used the plants for food or medicine.

The Tools of the Trade trunk explores handmade tools that were used in early Native American cultures, and includes beautiful stone tool displays created by local flint knapper Ray Alt. Students can handle replicas of traditional tools and explore how native peoples used the bison for food, clothing, jewelry, and more.

The Pack your Bags and Travel through Montana trunk helps students discover their history through the use of topographical maps. The collection highlights Montana’s seven reservations and many tribes. It also explores the Livingston area, “The Great Bend of the Yellowstone,” throughout time and with stories.

The Step into a Native American Closet trunk includes hands-on examples of the fashions and fabrics of Montana’s local tribes.  In the Gallery of the Past, students view postcards that feature American Indian people, their lands, animals, and culture.