Integrating Native American traditions in one Montana classroom

Cecil Crawford (l) and Nancy Larum (r) co-teach at Hellgate High School in Montana.

StoryCorps Door-to-Door traveled to Missoula, Montana, to record stories for our National Teachers Initiative. We were hosted by the Graduation Matters Missoula program, and during our stay, we met Cecil Crawford, a Blackfeet Native American teacher at Hellgate High School, and his co-teacher, Nancy Larum.

According to Cecil, he does not teach by giving directions but by telling stories, and in discussing his life’s work, he did just that. Cecil speaks with a calming cadence in his voice, and after our conversation I felt relaxed and overtaken by his infectious serenity. He shared a story of how one night, he dreamt of himself teaching a classroom full of Native American children. He took the dream as a sign and left his reservation to become the first teacher to implement a Native American studies curriculum in a high school outside the Indian reservation. This later became a model for other schools across Montana and other states. (more…)

Student/Sons Finding Their Way

StoryCorps Door-to-Door headed to Missoula, Montana for the National Teacher’s Initiative through a partnership with Graduation Matters Missoula. Facilitator Luis Gallo and I embarked on a journey into the wilderness. In keeping with the theme of our trip, it was an education. Moose, bald eagles, deer sightings, sweeping vistas of mountains, and rivers coursing through valleys, it felt as far away from our Brooklyn headquarters as one could get. Just as impressive were the teachers, educators, students, and parents we met during interviews at the Missoula Education Association.

Father and son Wayne and Sean Beddow are both teachers and arrived not quite knowing what to expect, but they gradually warmed to the process of telling their story. Over the course of the conversation, their love of teaching, coaching basketball, and their influence on one another became apparent. (more…)

Goodbye, Montana!

StoryCorps baby

Even babies love stories. One of our younger participants enjoys the company of StoryCorps facilitators.

Bear scare

Hiking in the Bitterroot

When we’re not collecting stories in Missoula, you’ll find us hiking the Bitterroot Mountains or napping (Montana style).

A deer swims in the Clarkfork River

Opening day in Missoula

In Missoula, we are parked right on the Clarkfork River, a picturesque spot. Today, our hosts at KUFM and the Boone and Crockett club held a little ice cream party to welcome StoryCorps to Missoula and introduce us to the community here.

Racing the freight train…

. . . driving over the flatlands of eastern Montana