Join us on Thursday, November 19th at 7:00 PM at Elk River Books in Livingston to learn more about the Crazy Mountains Oral History Project from Francine Spang-Willis and some narrators featured in the first three episodes.
Listen to the oral history podcast here (link to CMOHP website)!
Our Narrators:
Francine D. Spang-Willis (Episode 1): Draws on her Northern Cheyenne ancestry, upbringing, and education to highlight the fluid movement of people across landscapes and the vital role oral history plays in land conservation.
Dr. Timothy McCleary (Episode 2): Explains how Crow place names, oral traditions, and language reveal a worldview in which people are part of the land, while examining how colonization and land policies disrupted these relationships.
Shane Hope (Episode 3): An archaeologist who grew up on the Crow Reservation, Shane shares perspectives on living with and caring for the landscape, focusing on collaborative conservation and building trust across diverse communities.
The Crazy Mountain Oral History Project began with a thought-provoking question from Francine Spang-Willis, founder of Appearing Flying Woman Consulting and a citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Nation. When exploring different land designations and management approaches used elsewhere, Francine asked: "How can we decide?"
The goal of these ongoing conversations is to better understand the historical processes of colonialism that brought us to this point while creating new models for collaborative conservation, co-stewardship, and land management.
Led by Francine in partnership with PCEC, the project features interviews with 15 individuals, including historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, hunters, ranchers, and conservationists. Guided by principles of trust and respect, the team obtained each narrator’s consent, review, and permission, and consulted with several Tribal Historic Preservation Offices before making the podcast series available to the public.
We hope to see you on November 19th for the kickoff of what will be many community conversations sharing these insights, stories, relationships, and creative visions.