Amid taking exams, readying for summer internships and planning future careers, American Indian students at Montana State University are at the heart of the 42nd annual American Indian Council Powwow, which on April 14-15 will fill MSU’s fieldhouse with drums, ceremony and colorful dress.
 
“To us, the powwow is about bringing our culture to life and sharing it with other people,” said Ty Show, a senior majoring in industrial engineering in MSU’s College of Engineering.
 
As president of MSU’s American Indian Council, Show is one of the lead organizers of the powwow, which costs the campus organization roughly $40,000 to host. Each year the AIC raises that money through food sales and other fundraisers throughout the year. “I made that a priority for us, so we could keep the admission free to the public,” Show said.

Ty Show, center, a Montana State University student from Blackfeet Reservation, attends a prayer ceremony for the new Native American Student Center on Friday, April 14, 2017 at Montana State University, in Bozeman, Mont. MSU Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

For Show, a member of the Blackfeet tribe who grew up in Browning, the powwow at MSU is a chance to connect with his family and with tradition.
 
“I grew up immersed in my culture,” he said. “I’ve found it important that we provide that home-away-from-home feeling to Native students (during the powwow),” he said.
 
Show is also a member of the MSU chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and coordinating the event has put his industrial engineering skills to work, he said. “I used some project management techniques to keep us on track.”
 
Preceding the powwow on Friday was a ceremony to raise funds and attention for the proposed American Indian Student Center at MSU. Civil engineering major Dawson Demontiney, a junior who grew up on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation near Havre, took a lead role in organizing the ceremony as founder of the Native American Development Group, an MSU student organization.

Through contributions from campus offices, Demontiney raised more than $2,800 for the event in hopes that some of the hundreds of people who come from around the state for the powwow will join in the ceremony. MSU President Waded Cruzado and members of the MSU Council of Elders attended the event, which began with a ceremony at the site of the proposed building, across from the College of Engineering’s Roberts Hall and then moved into the SUB Ballroom for a free lunch and presentations.

“I want to see ground broken, see the foundation poured and see this building going up,” said Demontiney, who plans to work in construction management after he graduates as a way to improve life on Indian reservations. “I’m taking the stuff I’ve learned in school and putting it into action.”
 
When the powwow begins with a grand entry at 6 p.m. Friday, Trisheena Kills Pretty Enemy, a senior majoring in microbiology in MSU’s College of Letters and Science and vice president of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, will lead the hundreds of other dancers as they circle the arena.

Kills Pretty Enemy, a member of the Crow tribe who grew up in Pryor, began dancing at age seven. Later, her family made her an elk-tooth dress, a traditional outfit worn during Crow-style dance. “Dancing has always been a big passion for me,” she said.
 
As she looks ahead to a 10-week, paid summer internship at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City funded by the National Institutes of Health, Kills Pretty Enemy said that being voted head woman dancer by the American Indian Council is an opportunity to honor her family and her culture.
 
According to Kills Pretty Enemy, because she has faced the death of loved ones and other personal challenges during her time at MSU, her role at powwow is also a chance to honor the support she’s received, including from the EMPower program housed in MSU’s College of Engineering, the McNair Scholars Program and TRiO Student Support Services. She said she has also been supported by Seth Walk, assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, in whose lab she studies transmission of bacterial disease as part of a Montana INBRE research collaboration.

Powwow “is a chance to honor what’s kept me going. It’s meaningful,” she said.

At the powwow, Show will perform a “giveaway” ceremony to honor three of his instructors in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering: professor Durward Sobek and assistant professors David Claudio and Bill Schell. After giving each a Pendleton blanket, Show will circle the arena alongside them in an honor dance, with his family and other faculty joining in.

“They’ve showed that they care about my success and about me working toward my dreams,” Show said. “It means a lot to me to see someone step up and take on that role.”
 
There were 650 American Indian students enrolled at MSU in 2016, and the American Indian Council Powwow is one of the largest in Montana. A complete schedule and information about events and prizes can be found on the MSU American Indian Council website.

The Western Transportation Institute (WTI) at Montana State University and Moscow State University for Transport Engineering (MIIT) in Russia have completed a unique, year-long collaboration designed to make transportation in rural communities more accessible to people with disabilities. 

In both countries, rural transit agencies struggle to meet accessibility requirements because of limited funding and large service areas, according to WTI program manager Susan Gallagher, the project’s principal investigator. 

“This project offered an opportunity to develop solutions from a cross-cultural perspective,” Gallagher said. 

The project has its origins in a chance meeting between MIIT professor Irina Karapetyants and Paul Foster, director of the Office of International Studies and Outreach at MSU Billings, who was visiting Russia in 2013 as part of a U.S. State Department program to foster educational collaboration between the two countries. After Karapetyants expressed interest in WTI’s work, Foster connected the two institutions.

At that time, WTI and MIIT were in the process of stepping up their roles in addressing regional transportation workforce needs. In 2014, the Federal Highway Administration selected WTI to lead the new West Region Transportation Workforce Center, created to help develop a well-trained transportation workforce across 10 Western states. Meanwhile, as Russia prepared to host the 2014 Winter Paralympics, Russia’s Ministry of Transport established a special Training Resource Center for Accessible Transportation at MIIT, with similar training goals. 

“Both parties recognized that we have a lot in common, in terms of serving large, low-population areas,” and that both would benefit from sharing research findings and other resources, Gallagher said. 

After securing a grant from the Eurasia Foundation in 2015 that allowed WTI and MIIT to discuss mutual goals, the partners decided to focus on increasing accessibility to people with disabilities in rural and small urban communities, according to Gallagher. 

“A primary focus of the project was on producing well-trained staff capable of providing quality assistance to passengers with disabilities,” Gallagher said. 

After WTI researchers collected information about different accessibility training programs, it shared the information with MIIT, as well as with transit providers in the U.S., both on the West Region Transportation Workforce Center website and through a series of webinars. During the project, the West Region Transportation Workforce Center added information about roughly 170 transit training programs to its online searchable database, and added links to over 50 relevant research papers and other resources to its website. 

The researchers also compared accessibility education programs and data from surveys of transit providers in their respective countries to identify barriers and successes to providing accessible transportation services. The results led WTI researchers to identify ways that they could improve regional training programs, according to Gallagher. 

“The success of the project partnership exceeded expectations,” she said.

“The team is eager to identify opportunities to continue these initial efforts.” The project was jointly sponsored by the Eurasia Foundation’s University Partnership Program and by the Small Urban and Rural Livability Center, a University Transportation Center supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation and led by WTI. The project team included transit training experts from Easterseals Project Action Consulting. The project is one of 20 international global initiatives with which WTI has been involved.

With support from a $4,000 grant from the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation, the Bozeman Masters Swim Club will be offering free swim lessons for adults, beginning in April.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than a third of adults in the United States can’t swim the length of a pool, which puts them at risk of being one of the ten people who drown every day in this country. Swimming skills can save lives, both by preventing drowning, and by providing people with the skills needed to make swimming for fitness part of a long-term healthy lifestyle.

The Bozeman Masters Swim Club has joined U.S. Masters Swimming’s Adult Learn-to-Swim initiative to make more adults safer around water. To kick things off, the club will be offering four 30-minute adult learn-to-swim lessons during the Bozeman Parks and Recreation’s Free Water Safety Event this Saturday, April 1 at the Bozeman Swim Center. These lessons will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For adults who want or need more than 30 minutes, the club is also offering multiple-lesson sessions in April and May. All lessons will be taught by certified instructors, and there will be no more than three pupils for every instructor.

To reserve a spot or learn more about the program, please contact Sue Harkin at 406-600-9296 or suzetteharkin@gmail.com

About the Bozeman Masters Swim Club
The Bozeman Masters Swim Club has been an official U.S. Masters Swimming club since 2004. The volunteer-run, nonprofit program welcomes adult swimmers of all ages, abilities, and motivations, and the club’s membership represents a diverse cross-section of the Bozeman community. The club has three Level 2 USMS-Certified Masters Coaches who cater to the diverse needs of the membership, offering structured, full-body workouts to enhance fitness, core strength, aerobic conditioning, physical endurance, and stroke technique. For more information, visit http://www.bozemanmasters.org/.

About the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation
The Swimming Saves Lives Foundation, the charitable arm of U.S. Masters Swimming, raises awareness about the problem of adult drowning, and is a resource for adult learn-to-swim lesson providers. The foundation solicits charitable contributions and provides grants to programs and instructors that teach adult swim lessons. For more information, go to http://www.usms.org/giving/.

Registration is now open for Bozeman’s spring hunter education course. Online registration is required, and students under 18 years of age must have the consent of a parent or guardian.
 
The class will take place Apr. 10 through Apr. 14 at Chief Joseph Middle School (4255 Kimberwicke Street) from 7-9 p.m.  Students will complete a field day on Saturday, Apr. 15 at the Logan Range. A morning or afternoon time for the field day will be assigned to students in class.

Students may register by for this course going to FWP’s website at fwp.mt.gov, clicking on Education, then Hunter Education, then “Find a Class or Field Course.” Students must print, sign and bring the Student Agreement Form the first night of class. If the student is under 18 years old, a parent/guardian must sign the agreement. After online registration, classroom materials must be picked up at FWP’s regional office in Bozeman (1400 S. 19th Ave.).

Classroom hunter education courses in Montana are free to students. Students must be at least 10 years old to register.

The Bozeman Public Library is hosting a photography reception with The Camera Club of Bozeman! This event is Friday, April 7, 6-7:30pm and will display photography from local artists involved with the club. The Camera Club of Bozeman includes amateurs, professionals, and everyone in between!  The display will be up in the Library’s Atrium Gallery April 1 – 30.

Established in 1949, the Bozeman Camera Club and is a local, non-profit, photography club. They primarily focus on digital photography and have over 50 members “dedicated to enjoying and improving photography through education with the association of other members who share a wide range of interests and experiences and enjoy sharing their knowledge with others interested in learning.” Reasons to be a part of the club include: a supportive environment to share images, education on the technical aspects of photography, and general camaraderie.

Open year round to new members who love to use a camera, The Bozeman Camera Club is for anyone from novice to working professional. Annual dues are $15 and meetings are open to the public. This club can be found meeting every 4th Thursday at 7pm in the Willson School Board Room.

The exhibition will be on display during Library hours.  A percentage of sales will go to the Bozeman Public Library Foundation to ensure continuation of cultural programs at the Library for public benefit.  For more information about the exhibit or opening reception, please call Sarah DeOpsomer at 582-2425 or email sarah@bozemanlibraryfoundation.org.

Registration is now open for Montana State University's Youth Writing Camp, to be held on the MSU campus July 10-13.

The program, hosted by the Yellowstone Writing Project, is a multi-day, creative writing workshop complete with walking field trips, writing games, guidance and feedback throughout the writing process. Participating students will write in multiple genres, sharing their writing within a supportive community of peers and certified educators.

The camp, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, is open to students entering grades 5-12 in the fall. It is led by teachers and junior counselors from the Yellowstone Writing Project. Based in MSU’s Department of English, the Yellowstone Writing Project is comprised of teachers who write and writers who teach.

An evening reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 13, will allow parents to join their campers, along with the entire team, to celebrate the students’ creative writing.
 
Early registration is available for $150 per camper until April 26. After the 26th, the cost will be $175 and will remain open until the camp is filled. All campers will be provided a journal, extra writing utensils and a T-shirt as part of the registration cost.
 
For more information or to register, visit http://eu.montana.edu/YWP or contact Nicole Soll, MSU Extended University, at (406) 994-6683 or nicole.soll1@montana.edu.

A collaborative project of the Montana State University Library and Yellowstone National Park that catalogs and makes available the sounds of Yellowstone National Park was featured earlier this week in a story that appeared on the Huffington Post.

MSU’s Acoustic Atlas project was featured in “The Sounds Of Yellowstone National Park Remind Us Why It’s Worth Preserving.” The story, which was written by Chris McGonigal and Nick Offenberg, appeared on the online national news outlet on March 1.

“For 145 years, Yellowstone ― which stretches from Wyoming to parts of Montana and Idaho ― has been the inspiration for countless works of art and awe-inspiring photo shoots,” the authors wrote. “But one thing visitors might take for granted are the soundscapes they hear when visiting these treasured national parks.”

That’s where the Acoustic Atlas project comes in. In 2013, MSU, through its Acoustic Atlas project, partnered with Yellowstone National Park to make a collection of public domain sounds from all around the park available online. Those sounds, along with a developing podcast series highlighting America’s first national park, are known as the Yellowstone Collection.

The audio collection aims to create new ways to experience the animals, landscapes and people of the area, by offering a freely accessible online archive of natural sounds, interviews and radio stories focused on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

The Acoustic Atlas was founded in 2013 and includes recordings from throughout the western United States. The Yellowstone Collection builds on its mission to document the sounds of regional ecosystems.

MSU Library Dean Kenning Arlitsch said the Yellowstone Collection of the Acoustic Atlas has been well-received by the thousands of people who have visited the website.

“The sounds in this collection can help people re-live their experiences with wild places, and they can help paint a more complete picture for people who haven’t yet been to those places,” Arlitsch said. “Our partnership with Yellowstone National Park helps tell that story to people all over the world.”

The Huffington Post story is available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/yellowstone-national-park-sounds_us_58ac5e14e4b0a855d1d9ecca. To listen to sounds of Yellowstone through the Acoustic Atlas project, visit https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/soundlibrary.htm. The complete MSU Acoustic Atlas is available at http://acousticatlas.org/.

The official music video for Chris Shiflett’s “West Coast Town” is premiering today at Vice’s Noisey. Watch/share HERE. Of the video, the site praises, “…it immediately puts you in the mood for a good-ass time.”

“West Coast Town” is the title track from Shiflett’s upcoming solo album, which will be released on April 14 on SideOneDummy Records and is now available for pre-order. Already receiving acclaim, Rolling Stoneasserts, “….flawlessly blends blue-collar country punk with a catchy Bakersfield bounce. Borrowing the rowdy swagger of Prison Bound-era Social Distortion and the SoCal sheen of Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam, Shiflett crafts a sound that is both geographically grounded and wholly his own.”

Working with Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb and Grammy Award-winning engineer/mixer Matt Ross-Spang, the 10-track album was recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A during the summer of 2016. In addition to Shiflett on electric guitar and Cobb on acoustic guitar and percussion, the album features an all-star collection of studio musicians, including Robby Turner (Waylon Jennings, Chris Stapleton) on pedal steel, Chris Powell (Brent Cobb, Jamey Johnson) on drums and percussion, Adam Gardner (Southern Family) on bass and Michael Webb (Southern Family) on keyboards.

Of making the album, Shiflett comments, “After being a fan of Dave Cobb’s work for years, recording with him and his crew was everything I’d hoped it would be. His input on and arrangements of my songs took them into places I wouldn’t have imagined. Plus the speed that he creates at was inspiring.”

In celebration of the album release, Shiflett will embark on a series of special shows this spring, including dates in L.A., New York and Nashville. The performances will feature special opening guest Brian Whelan, who co-wrote four songs from the new album. See below for complete details.

West Coast Town is Shiflett’s third solo album and follow’s 2013’s All Hat and No Cattle, which features covers of nine classic honky-tonk songs by artists such as Don Rich, Waylon Jennings, Faron Young, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Of the album, American Songwriter asserts, “The guitar sounds are predictably killer, but Shiflett really lets loose on the vocals,” while Paste Magazine praises, “Shiflett’s vocal performances are nearly always impressive and interesting, and he never tries too hard to imitate or stray away from the styles of the original artists; rather, he is able to appropriately insert himself into these songs in a way that feels quite natural.”

Born in Santa Barbara and now based in Los Angeles, Shiflett is widely known as the guitarist for Foo Fighters as well as for his previous work with Dead Peasants and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. In addition to music, Shiflett is the creator and host of the weekly podcast, “Walking the Floor with Chris Shiflett,” which features one-on-one interviews with a wide range of musical guests, writers, athletes, and artists. Past guests include Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, Mike Ness, Steve Earle, John Doe, Sturgill Simpson, Mickey Raphael and more.

For more information, please contact Asha Goodman 615.320.7753, Amy Lipsky 615.320.7753 or Carla Sacks 212.741.1000 at Sacks & Co.
WEST COAST TOWN TRACK LIST
1. Sticks & Stones (Chris Shiflett)
2. West Coast Town (Chris Shiflett)
3. Goodnight Little Rock (Chris Shiflett)
4. Room 102 (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)
5. The Girl’s Already Gone (Chris Shiflett)
6. Blow Out The Candles (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)
7. I’m Still Drunk (Chris Shiflett)
8. Cherry (Chris Shiflett)
9. Tonight’s Not Over (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)
10. Still Better Days (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)

CHRIS SHIFLETT TOUR DATES
*with special guest Brian Whelan  

March 21 /// Portland, OR /// Hawthorne Lounge*
March 22 /// Seattle, WA /// Sunset Tavern*
March 24 /// Spokane, WA /// The Big Dipper*
March 26 /// Missoula, MT /// Missoula Winery*
March 27 /// Bozeman, MT /// The Eagles Ballroom*
March 28 /// Ketchum, ID /// Whiskey Jacques*
March 30 /// Pioneertown, CA /// Pappy and Harriets Pioneertown Palace*
March 31 /// Flagstaff, AZ /// Museum Club*
April 2 /// Los Angeles, CA /// RESIDENT*
April 3 /// San Diego, CA /// Casbah*
April 6 /// New York, NY /// Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2*
April 9 /// Nashville, TN /// The High Watt*  
April 10 /// Atlanta, GA /// Eddie’s Attic*

Get in front of a hungry audience!