Fort Phil Kearny, Medicine Wheel sites to host new American Indian interpreters
BUFFALO — For decades, staff at the Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site have provided visitors with context on the Bozeman Trail, life on the frontier in the 1860s and the day-to-day operation of a fort in such an isolated location.
But starting this summer, Fort Phil Kearny will have something new — historic interpretation provided by young American Indian voices.
"I'm really excited about it and what the American Indian students can get out of this,” said Donovin Sprague, an instructor at Sheridan College and author of Native American history, and a member of the Minniconjou Lakota of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, whose ancestors were involved in events around the current Fort Kearny site. Sprague also serves as adviser to the Fort Phil Kearny/ Bozeman Trail Association.
"I can't pass on tribal knowledge, but I am trying to open doors,” said Dave McKee, president of the Fort Phil Kearny/ Bozeman Trail Association and a former archaeologist and tribal liaison with the U.S. Forest Service.
"It's important to have the whole story told from different voices,” said Linley Mayer, an interpretive ranger for Wyoming State Parks.
McKee and Mayer — with the help of advisers such as Sprague — are leading the charge in finding funding and training the new interpreters, who have already been hired for the coming summer. The two American Indian students — hired from local colleges — will flip-flop, each first spending four weeks at either Fort Phil Kearny or the Bighorn Medicine Wheel before switching to the other site.
The nine-week internship will begin with a one-week training on historical interpretation taught by Mayer. The National Association for Interpretation certification will give the students a grounding in best interpretive practices, help build up their resumes and give them the skills and knowledge to jumpstart a discussion about current interpretive practices at the two sites.
“With this program, we can get some feedback on how we're doing," said Mayer, who will be based at the fort for the summer. “How are we telling the story?”
In particular, Mayer said she was excited to have the students give feedback on how the current exhibits are constructed and what stories, particularly American Indian stories, are being missed or ignored by the current interpretation.
The current exhibits — especially at Fort Phil Kearny — focus on military history and the life of white pioneers on the Bozeman Trail, rather than the centuries of American Indian history that occurred in the Powder River Basin.
"It's about sharing our side of these events,” Sprague said. “We were the victors in all of this, so it's only appropriate that we should be center stage.”
In 1868 forts along the Bozeman Trail — such as Fort Phil Kearny — were abandoned after warriors led by the Lakota leader Red Cloud prevailed over U.S. Army soldiers at the Fetterman Fight.
Two cultural mentors will also assist the students with any questions they have about interpretation at the sites.
Sprague said that, aside from the internship program, he was also worried about proposed development going on around the Fort Phil Kearny site, and his concern that homes might be built on important historical sites owned by the state.
McKee has worked closely with local tribes, agencies and American Indian colleges to coordinate the program. McKee helped to recruit possible students at nine universities across Wyoming and Montana, focusing on American Indian and natural resource studies programs, such as Bighorn College and Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer, Montana.
For decades, American Indian leaders and federal agencies have coordinated the management of the Bighorn Medicine Wheel, but never before have American Indian youth been asked to provide interpretation.
“Typically, in historic sites, there has not been the kind of dialogue with tribal members that should be taking place,” Mayer said.
In particular, McKee stressed that the history of sites like Fort Phil Kearny extends far beyond the focus on military battles and the Bozeman Trail that have typically been the focus of interpretation. Instead, he said, interpretation should also have room for the “over 12,000 years of family, people living here and having a rich culture.”
He said he hoped the new interpreters would be able to grow and expand the American Indian aspect of these sites, with the support of existing interpretive staff.
For example, McKee wondered if American Indian ancestors of those who had participated in the Wagon Box Fight or the Fetterman Fight might be able to provide their own perspective and interpretation for visitors.
"It's about passing on tribal knowledge and cultural history to the next generation,” said McKee, who hoped this first year of the program would allow further coordination with local American Indian groups, such as the Crow, Cheyenne, Shoshone and Arapaho.
The student interns will be paid and housing provided at the two sites, with financial and logistical support from the Wyoming Council of Humanities, Wyoming State Parks and the Bighorn National Forest. The first day of work for the interns is June 12.
This story was published on May 4, 2023.