Holter Education

The hope is that this verbal/written acknowledgement of indigenous lands goes beyond the intent of recognition and holds the Holter to actively working with Helena’s tribal communities to listen and respond to expressed needs and wants, and to have programming designed with and for native voices and for the greater Helena community.

The Holter Museum of Art recognizes the land in and around Helena, Montana and the space upon which the museum stands as traditional Blackfoot and Salish Kootenai territories, and at one point in time, Shoshone territory as well. This recognition is meant as an acknowledgement of the space the museum holds within colonized lands and the significance, as a cultural and educational space, the museum must place on Indian Education for All and on the representation of Native voices within the contemporary arts world.

For more information and resources, look to:

• Eastern Shoshone Tribe – http://www.easternshoshone.org/about.html
• Blackfeet Nation – https://blackfeetnation.com/
• Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes – https://csktribes.org/
• Montana’s Indian Education for All – https://opi.mt.gov/Educators/Teaching-Learning/Indian-Education-for-All
• Institute of American Indian Arts (AIAI) for contemporary Native artists, Native art world news, and resources for up and coming Native artists – https://iaia.edu/
• Native Lands, a website mapping Indigenous nations by territories, languages, and treaties. Native Lands has a thorough explanation of the need for and problems presented by Land Acknowledgements without equal action – https://native-land.ca/