The Montana Historical Society hosts public programs on a wide variety of topics relating to the Treasure State’s history and culture. Most programs take place on Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. (excluding holidays and a summer break). Every fall the Society holds its annual Montana History Conference. Special lectures, exhibit openings, curator tours, and family programs also enliven the year.

Can’t make it? Watch the archived recording on the MHS YouTube Channel as well as a variety of great presentations.

May 2023

NOTE: All presentations are at the Lewis and Clark Library, 120 S Last Chance Gulch, Helena and archived on the MTHS YouTube Channel unless otherwise noted.

• Sunday, May 21, 2:00 p.m.
  Home of Peace Cemetery Tour
  With Ellen Baumler
  Tour limited to 30 people. Registration is closed.
  Helena's early Jewish community established the Home of Peace in 1867. It is Helena's oldest active burial ground and Montana's first Jewish cemetery where prominent civic leaders, Masons, businessmen, and families lie under the shade of century-old trees. Among its special features are family plots grouped together, connected with brick-paved walkways, much like a village neighborhood. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, the cemetery is treasure trove of stories and a tribute to Helena's Jewish pioneers. Register to join Ellen Baumler for a Jewish American Heritage Month tour of this special place. Park in the Capital High student parking lot or on Brady Street. ( View Map [goo.gl])

  Cosponsored by the Montana Historical Society, the Home of Peace Cemetery Association, and the Montana Jewish Project

• Thursday, May 25, 6:30 p.m.
  Brothers on Three
  A conversation with Abraham Streep and Donnie Wetzel and book signing
  Myrna Loy Center, 15 N. Ewing St., Helena
  March 11, 2017, was a night to remember. In front of the hopeful eyes of thousands of friends, family members, and fans, the Arlee Warriors would finally bring the high school basketball state championship title home to the Flathead Indian Reservation. The game would become the stuff of legend, with the boys revered as local heroes. Then, in 2018, the Warriors defended their title after creating a viral suicide-prevention video. In Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana, journalist Abe Streep follows the Warriors as they balanced the pressures of adolescence, shouldered the dreams of their community, and charted their own individual courses for the future.

  Streep will be joined by Donnie Wetzel, Director and Co-Founder of the MT Indian Athletic Hall of Fame. Together they will discuss sports, power, and change in Montana. From recruitment to officiating to the impact of stories, they will discuss the issues that animate Brothers on Three and that make basketball in Montana such an expression of strength, conflict, and joy.

  Cosponsored by the Montana Office of Public Instruction Indian Education Unit and the Helena Indian Alliance.

To arrange speakers for your group or organization, or other questions regarding public programs, contact Martha Kohl at (406) 444-4740 or mkohl@mt.gov.

Sign up to learn about upcoming programs.