Through the Lens: The Life & Legacy of Richard Throssel

A Métis Washington native, Richard Throssel 1^st moved to the Crow Reservation as a clerk for the Indian Service. While there, he was inspired by the vibrant and unique culture of the Apsaalooke people. For a brief time, he studied under Joseph Henry Sharp during Sharp’s time on the Reservation, and then was later involved with the 1905 & 1909 Edward Curtis expeditions for The North American Indian. These experiences impressed upon him the beauty of color, shape, and story in sharing native lives while stirring the possibilities of photography as cultural documentation. He later opened his own photography studio in Billings.

For nearly 2 decades, Throssel’s photographs captured the strength and spirit of native people in Southeastern Montana. His relationship with the Apsaalooke inspired a level of trust and agency to tell their stories through the photographic lens. His experiences motivated him through 2 terms as a Montana State Legislator, and his position as an accepted insider helped create one of the most authentic and organic collections of early 20^th century photographs of the Native people of Southeastern Montana.

View his amazing work in this original exhibition.

Special Thanks to the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming and the Montana Arts Council C&A Grant Program

“We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana’s cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund.”

Yellowstone Kelly was a trapper, hunter, and guide in Montana during the late 1860s and 1870s. He is best known as an Army Scout during the closing campaign against the nomadic Native American tribes of the Northern Plains.

A restless spirit during his lifetime, Kelly would accompany military and scientific expeditions. Often traveling alone, Kelly is described as a quiet unassuming man. He survived by cutting wood for steamboats, hunting bison and trapping wolves, all while getting acquainted with the people and places of the Yellowstone Valley and Missouri River region. Kelly experienced more hospitality than hostility while traveling among the people of the Northern Plains.

Yellowstone Kelly guided and explored Montana for private commercial ventures and federal military reconnaissance. Journey with Yellowstone Kelly’s story through the Western Heritage Center’s travelling exhibit Briskly Venture, Briskly Roam: The Life and Legend of Yellowstone Kelly.

The coal mining exhibit features 49 historic photographs from private collections and public archives, including Montana Historical Society, Carbon County Historical Society and Roundup Record Tribune. You will discover the stories of the people who settled Montana’s early-day coal mining towns of Red Lodge, Bearcreek, Roundup, and Belt. The exhibit features the stories of miner’s and families that lived in the coal mining communities of Montana.

This traveling exhibit was created by the Western Heritage Center of Billings, with a grant from the Cultural and Aesthetic Coal Tax Trust Fund.  The Cultural and Aesthetic Coal Tax Trust Funds are made possible with funding by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana’s cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund.

We thank NorthWestern Energy for their support of this display in the fall of 2023.

Developed using nearly 80 oral histories from Vietnam Veterans, this exhibit explores the soldier’s experience of the Vietnam War. Using their own words, explore the terrors, challenges, and disappointments of this harrowing era.

In 1959, Billings native, George W. LeCount joined the US Air Force to fly over Vietnam. Five years later, he was recruited to join the secretive Air America pilot corps. Working as a covert pilot with the CIA-operated company, LeCount flew numerous missions under the guise of a private airline employee. This exhibit explores the role of Air America in Laos and LeCount’s experiences as a pilot at the height of the Vietnam War.

Baá Hawassiio & Ènomóhtåhéseh:
Healthcare on the Crow & Northern Cheyenne Reservations

June 17 – December 30, 2021

Description

Baá Hawassiio & Ènomóhtåhéseh: Healthcare on the Crow & Northern Cheyenne Reservations explores the history of healthcare and healing on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations. Visitors will learn how native peoples demanded better conditions and blended traditional beliefs with Western medical practices in the face of legal action and apathetic government workers. Exhibit highlights include a discussion of healthcare as assimilation practice, the effects of poor sanitation on reservation health, and the stories of two “healthcare heroes”: Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail, RN, and Cheyenne Tribal Judge, Marie Sanchez.

This traveling display of pop-up banners is a partnered exhibit with the Billings West High School students, Montana PBS, Billings Public Library and the Western Heritage Center. The student-led project explores the “Not in Our Town” events of  1992-1994. Students learned research skills, honing interviewing abilities, trained in video production, and crafted exhibit concepts to investigate more contemporary issues of social tolerance and discrimination.

The South Siders traveling exhibit explores the lesser recognized side of the city of Billings. When Billings was established in 1882, the railroad built tracks through the center of town, splitting the city into two distinct sections. Civic development formed primarily north of the tracks, while industry and immigrant groups settled on the southside. Explore the rich history, diversity, and stories of south side Billings. This Western Heritage Center virtual exhibit was created with support from Healthy by Design.