HELENA — Montana is getting an early start on America’s 250th birthday.
The Montana 250th commission has awarded more than $420,000 in grant funding to 32 organizations across the state, supporting projects that will help tell Montana’s story as the nation prepares to mark its sesquicentennial.
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“I think in Montana we have a lot of excitement about the role we play in the nation and being proud to not only be Montanans but Americans,” Montana 250th Commission Chair Chris Averill said.
The Montana 250th Commission was established by the 2023 Montana legislature through House Bill 377 to coordinate statewide efforts to commemorate the United States 250th anniversary and provide $1 million to help with projects and celebrations.
Among the 32 recipients is the Oro Fino Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, which covers four counties.
Gale Kramlick, the chapter’s regent, said, “So we are planning to put displays in schools, libraries, and around downtown areas. It is just important because I think a lot of our history gets lost, and we need to remember that our military today is still helping and fighting for our freedoms.”
The Montana Jewish Project is also receiving funding for its project focusing on education, a collection of oral histories of Jewish Montanans.
“The importance of collecting these stories of the past and preserving them for the future is that Jews belong here, live here, and this is our home too,” Dr. Kaelie Giffel with the Montana Jewish Project said.
The Montana Arts Council will get funding for their project highlighting the stories of those who may go unseen through different art forms with their Montana 12,250 anthology.
Krys Holmes, the executive director, said, “The free expression of art and culture is the pillar of democracy, a signifier of a strong democracy if people are free to express who they are and how they experience the land and each other.”
There is more funding available when applications open in February for a separate Montana 250 sponsorship program, which will provide funding for events and activities to cities and counties to increase awareness of the United States Semiquincentennial.
Averill said, “I see this anniversary as a way to inspire the current generation to be more involved in their community and the next generation to learn about their history.”
Below is the list of all grant recipients:
- Little Big Horn College – The Way of the Warrior: Crow Indian Intertribal Warfare in Defense of Crow Country – $32,874
- Montana Arts Council – Montana 12,250 Anthology – $30,000
- Humanities Montana – Montana Conversations: Our Montana Voices – $25,000
- Chickadee Community Services – IndigiPalooza MT – $25,000
- Northwest Montana Historical Society Inc, – Indigenous Northwest Montana History Exhibit Update – $23,300
- City of Hardin – The Power of Place: Voices of Big Horn County GPS Audio Tour – $20,000
- Montana Jewish Project – Living Stories of Jewish Montana – $20,000
- Tell Us Something – Tell Us Something – $19,710
- Museum of the Rockies – America at 250: History Comes Alive at Museum of the Rockies –$18,062
- Carter County Geological Society – American Horse Power – $15,470
- 2nd U.S. Cavalry Association of Helena Montana – A Celebration of the Montana Territory –$14,000
- Glacier Art Museum (formerly Hockaday Museum of Art) – The Traveling Medicine Show: Blackfeet History and Culture Through Art and Story – $12,500
- Friends of the Montana Constitution – Teaching Montana's Constitution: A Summer Workshop for Educators – $12,000
- Stillwater Historical Society/Museum of the Beartooths – Stillwater County 250th American Anniversary Collaborative Mural – $12,000
- Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society – Our Historic Home – $10,125
- Sidney Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture – Sidney Veterans Memorial Park - Memorial Pillars– $10,000
- Friends of the Madison Valley Public Library – Montana Monthly – $9,850
- Julia Hancock Chapter, NSDAR – From Patriots to Pioneers: Celebrating Liberty in the Heart of Montana – $9,750
- Travelers' Rest Connection – 25 Events for 25 Years of Travelers' Rest State Park – $9,200
- Anaconda-Deer Lodge County – Anaconda Oral Histories – $9,000
- Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History – Revolution in the West: The Clark Family Saga –$9,000
- MonDak Heritage Center – MonDak Heritage Mural with MonDak 250 Written Word Contest –$8,938
- Choteau Elementary School – Montana Living History Wax Museum – $8,750
- Fergus County – Montana- Liberty's Frontier-1776-2026 – $8,500
- BioRegions International – Connection to Place: Story Workshops – $6,600
- Friends of the Butte Archives – Butte: The City that Built a Nation – $6,245
- Town of Cascade, Montana – Cascade's America 250-A Year of Doing History – $6,000
- Oro Fino Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution – A Celebration of our Country's 250th birthday: Montana Style – $6,000
- Conrad Mansion Museum – Preserving Montana's Story: Archival Internship at the Conrad Mansion Museum – $5,800
- Town of Alberton – Alberton Historical Museum Upgrades – $5,550
- Billings Public Schools – Connecting Then and There to Here: An exploration of the Holocaust, The Indigenous Boarding School Era, and Japanese American Incarceration – $5,497
- Montana Masonic Foundation – Revolutionary Freemasonry – $5,000
