The Yellowstone Gateway Museum hosts a program entitled, “The Apsaalooke (Crow) in Yellowstone and the Gardiner Area” on Thursday, April 16, 7:00 pm, at Gardiner School. The free program is presented by Dr. Shane Doyle, Crow tribal member and MSU Native American Studies professor.

Doyle’s presentation focuses on the history and culture of the Crow Tribe, the cultural significance of the Yellowstone area to his people, and contemporary issues that face the Tribe today.

Doyle grew up in Crow Agency, Montana and is an enrolled member of the Crow Tribe. He attended school there and also at Montana State University-Bozeman, completing a BS in Elementary Education, an MS in Native American Studies, and an EdD in Education, Curriculum and Instruction. Doyle is an adjunct professor at MSU in both the Native American Studies and Education Department. He also works as an education and cultural consultant for numerous schools and groups, including the Smithsonian, Montana Office of Public Instruction, and the National Park Service. Doyle also serves as a tribal liaison in a recent collaborative effort with Dr. Eske Willerslev and the Center for Geogenetics, in Copenhagen, Denmark. This is in response to the recent DNA analysis of a young boy found in 1968 who was buried 12,600 years ago near present-day Wilsall, Montana.

Doyle leads a field trip into Yellowstone National Park for the Gardiner School Junior class prior to the evening program. These students will be traveling to the Crow Reservation in late May for a cultural exchange. Doyle has given several well-received Indian Education for All presentations to Livingston East Side School students and their parents through a museum and school collaborative program.

The overall program, Cultural Perspectives of Land Use in the Gardiner Area, features expert speakers who give information about land use from multiple perspectives, including Indian Education for All topics. The presentations are given during the 2014-2015 school year. After speakers engage students either in the classroom or on field trips to local cultural and natural sites, they present evening programs for the Gardiner and other nearby communities.

A recent Humanities Montana grant partially funds the project. The school, YGM, and the Friends of the Yellowstone Gateway Museum have also committed funds to the project’s completion. Call 406-222-4184, for more information.