Missoula County Government: Western Montana Fair To Begin With Montana Tribal Nations Flag Installation, First Nations Family Day

Press release from the Missoula County Government:

08/09/2021 11:29 AM

The Western Montana Fair will kick off this week with a Montana Tribal Nations flag installation at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, in the Historic Plaza. 

Fairgoers and media are invited to join tribal and local leaders in dedicating Montana’s eight tribal nation flags, which will complete the fairgrounds new historic plaza while honoring the state’s Indigenous heritage. The ceremony will mark the start of First Nations Family Day at the fair. 

“Missoula County and western Montana are Indian Country,” Commissioner Dave Strohmaier said. “It’s only fitting then that we infuse that reality into everything we do on this property. And while Missoula County is specifically located on the ancestral homeland of the Séliš (Salish or "Flathead') and Ql̓ispé (Kalispel or "Pend d’Oreille") tribes, we recognize, and welcome, the eight sovereign Indian Nations across the entire state of Montana to the Western Montana Fair and honor them by flying their flags in the historic plaza of our newly restored fairgrounds.” 

First Nations Family Day, hosted by All Nations Health Center, will be full of dance, music, education and awareness. Fairgoers can enjoy Native American dance demonstrations at 1 and 3 p.m. in the Historic Plaza, and Dan Dubuque, a Native American acoustic slide guitarist, will perform live at 5 p.m. in the Fairway Plaza. 

All Nations will host a booth where representatives will discuss the Missing and Murdered Women, Girls and Two-Spirit relative epidemic, as well as opioid use prevention and proper medicine disposal. 

“The Western Montana Fair is a great opportunity for us to come together to learn about what our community can do to address the MMIWG crisis,” said Skye McGinty, All Nations Health Center executive director. “MMIWG isn’t just a problem on the reservation – it happens in urban areas like Missoula, too. Our intertribal community needs support from our allies across western Montana to address this issue and help create healing for our relatives impacted by MMIWG.” 

People are encouraged to support MMIWG by wearing red to the PRCA Xtreme Bulls performance at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, where a MMIWG tribute video will be played, and families impacted by MMIWG will be honored during the opening ceremonies. A grand entry featuring 10 Native American riders carrying the American flag, Montana flag and the eight Tribal Nation flags will set the stage for an evening of bull riding under the Big Sky. Twenty percent of all Xtreme Bulls ticket sales will benefit MMIWG. 

Admission is free for the fair, which is open to all and bursting with fun activities from 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, through 10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 15. A complete 2021 fair schedule is available at https://missoulafairgrounds.com/2021-fair-schedule. 

Since the last fair in 2019, fairgrounds staff and partners have diligently worked through Phase One of the development plans to create an all-inclusive community space. The renovations include the commercial building, historic plaza, new concessions buildings, a new maintenance shop, utility extensions, perimeter landscaping and streetscaping, 6,000 feet of new trails and the historic groundbreaking of the Rocky Mountain Gardens and Exploration Center.        

Information about the future of the Fairgrounds is available at https://missoulafairgrounds.com/future. 

Fairgrounds Director, Emily Brock is available to answer additional questions at ebrock@missoulacounty.us.

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This press release was produced by the Missoula County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.