The third program in the Yellowstone Gateway Museum’s Culture of the 19th Century speaker series continues on Thursday, April 11, “Fort Parker: The First Crow Indian Agency,” presented by Crystal Alegria and Shane Doyle of Extreme History, Bozeman. Remaining programs are about Calamity Jane and Copper King William A. Clark. The free programs are held at 7:00 pm at Park Photo, 115 S. Main St., Livingston.
Fort Parker or the Mission agency was the first of three Crow Indian agencies. The Fort was established in 1869 as a result of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. Agents distributed annuity goods to the Crow Nation at the Fort from 1869 to 1875, when the agency moved east near what is now Absarokee, MT. The remains of Fort Parker can still be seen from the interpretive area on the bluff above. The site holds an important history that is not commonly known outside of the Crow Nation. Crystal Alegria and Shane Doyle will discuss the history of the agency and the work The Extreme History Project has done to uncover the unique and important role that the first Crow Agency played in early Montana history.
Shane Doyle has been a singer of Northern Plains tribal style of music for 30 years. He holds a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with 20 years of teaching experience, and studied genetics with the University of Copenhagen, Denmark in 2016. He has designed American Indian curriculum for Montana public schools, the National Park Service, and the Museum of the Rockies. He serves on many boards, including Extreme History Project, Hopa Mountain, the Montana Conservation Corps, and the Archaeological Conservancy, as well as on the Montana Arts Council culture and aesthetics committee and the Governors Parks in Focus Committee. Doyle is a widely sought speaker on northern Plains Tribal culture and public lands in Montana. He was instrumental in the repatriation of the Anzick Clovis Child near Wilsall in Park County and worked as a consultant and actor for the History Channel’s “Lost Treasure of the Little Bighorn Battle.” He and his wife Megkian and their five children, ages 5 – 14, reside in Bozeman.
Crystal Alegria is the Co-Director of The Extreme History Project, a nonprofit that brings history to the public in fun, engaging, and relevant ways. She has worked in the field of public history and archaeology education for last twenty years at a variety of museums and heritage organizations. She co-founded the Extreme History Project in 2012 and has helped build the organization into an award winning nonprofit that engages the public in history through walking tours, a lecture series, workshops, oral history, preservation projects, and other unique historical programming. Alegria has a M.A. in History from Montana State University. Crystal grew up in Livingston, MT and will always have a love for Paradise Valley but now calls Bozeman home. She lives there with her husband Larry and two teenage children, Emily and Lawson.
On Wednesday, April 24, “Me and Martha: Intimate Reflections of Dora DuFran about the Real Life of Calamity Jane,” is presented by scholar and actress, Mary Jane Bradbury. She will bring to life insights about Calamity’s real life through the eyes of madam Dora DuFran, a Black Hills pioneer, entrepreneur and close friend of Calamity’s. Partial funding for the Speakers Bureau program is provided by a legislative grant from Montana’s Cultural Trust and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
All programs are held at 7:00 pm at Park Photo, 115 S. Main St., Livingston. The speaker series is free, open to the public and refreshments are served. Doors open at 6:00 pm for the March 27 program; doors open for remaining programs at 6:30 pm.
Watch for more information about upcoming programs or contact Karen Reinhart at 222-4184 or kreinhart@parkcounty.org. Visit our Facebook page, yellowstonegatewaymuseum.
