[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 23, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4290-S4291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         LOCAL LEGACIES PROJECT

 Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a select few 
individuals from my home state of Montana. I have personally nominated 
these individuals to represent Montana in the Library of Congress' 
Local Legacies Project as part of their Bicentennial Celebration. The 
Local Legacies project has allowed citizens to participate directly in 
this great celebration. The participants have documented America's 
grassroots heritage in every state, the U.S. Trusts and Territories, 
and the District of Columbia. Their documentation provides

[[Page S4291]]

a snapshot of the nation's unique traditions as we begin a new century. 
My nominees for Montana's Local Legacies have worked hard to represent 
the beauty and deeply rooted heritage of our rugged and wide open 
state. The survival of our heritage is important for knowing not only 
where we came from, but where we are going. And for this, I commend 
them.
  Native Reign, is composed of Northern Cheyenne youth to promote the 
need for education, respect for the environment, development of 
personal skills, respect of tribal elders and a strong spiritual 
foundation. They have been supported by their adult leader Ken 
Bisonette and his efforts to make Native Reign the role model it has 
become. They combine traditional Native American dances, skits, with 
contemporary music to celebrate the history and traditions of the 
tribe. On April 9, 1999, they received the Governor's Award at the 
State Capitol Building in Helena from Montana Governor Marc Racicot for 
their success in showing Montana youth an alternative lifestyle to teen 
pregnancy, drugs and alcohol abuse, gangs, and violence. They are a 
role model for not only the young people of Montana, but for the rest 
of the United States as well. Congratulations Native Reign, you are 
truly a legacy!
  Mike Logan, Montana's very own Cowboy Poet has contributed a book of 
poetry illustrated with original photographs he took during his travels 
throughout our breathtaking state. His book is entitled ``Montana Is . 
. .'' Mike wanted to share some of the beauty he had been privileged to 
experience and photograph in his 21 years living in Montana. As part of 
his introduction to the book, Mike states: ``I love everything about 
Montana. . . . I still feel like I'm spending every day in heaven.'' 
Words that ring so true to my own heart. Mike paints a verbal and 
visual picture true to the very poetic nature of Montana's scenic 
beauty and spectacular wildlife. I would encourage everyone to pick up 
his book and take a journey into Montana's rich heritage. Thank you 
Mike, your poetry is one more part of our history we are lucky to have!
  The Metis Project: When they Awake--was created and produced by 
Helena Presents, a production, presentation and film center based in 
Helena, Montana. It is a celebration of the extraordinary legacy of 
fiddle music of the Metis people. The project explores the musical and 
social legacy of a tribe without boundaries, whose heritage results 
from marriage between Indians and Europeans throughout the Northern 
Plains from Sault St. Marie, Michigan, to Choteau, Montana, across both 
sides of the 49th parallel. Central to the project is the creation of a 
new musical work that references the indigenous American rhythms and 
diverse European fiddle heritage that is present in Metis music. The 
name of the presentation is based on a prediction of Louis Riel, a 
teacher, writer, and hero to the Metis people:

       My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they 
     awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit 
     back.

  Composer and performers Philip Aaberg and Darol Anger collaborated 
with master Metis fiddler, Jimmie LaRocque to revive once again the 
melodious spirit of the Metis people. Gentlemen, I take my hat off to 
you!
  Five St. Ignatius High School students from St. Ignatius, Montana, 
who present and preserve their area's native traditions using 
interviews with farmers and ranchers of the Mission Valley of Montana 
along with poignant photographs which paint a dramatic picture of farm 
life in the Mission Valley. The report summarizing their findings was 
written by their teacher Marta Brooks. Students in Brooks's English and 
history classes used the ``heritage education'' approach to the study 
of local culture. They collected stories, oral histories, historical 
documents, art and geological information that reflect the unity of 
landscape and culture. Montana's traditional farmers and ranchers are 
becoming a dying breed so because of the change in the local landscape 
with the inevitable change in the local culture the students were 
prompted to initiate this project as a way to document and preserve the 
area's native culture and traditions before they cease to exist. Thank 
you all for your efforts to immortalize our rich agricultural heritage. 
Your hard work brings a lot of pride to Montana!
  Montana Horse Story, was brought to us through the use of still 
photography, film, and field reporting, by a mother/son team, Allison 
and Joshua Collins. Allison and Joshua are part of a company called 
Related Images. Their project documents the legacy of the horse for 
work, transportation, and recreation as preserved by various Montana 
events such as rodeo, the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale, Indian rodeo, 
and O-mok-see. Their work was last seen locally, in an exhibit of rodeo 
photography, at the Holter Museum, in Helena, Mt. Much like the other 
Local Legacies projects, Montana Horse Story pinpoints a vital part of 
Montana's rich traditions, that without it we would not be the people 
that we have become. Joshua and Allison, you have captured our spirit 
in some of its best moments. Without your talents and dedication, our 
story would never be heard. Thank you!
  I conclude with one final remark: Without the hard work of all these 
individuals, Montana's rich cultural heritage may never be known. You 
should all be very proud of your efforts. I know Montanans are. And I 
most certainly am.

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