Heritage Outreach Program
The National Guard Heritage Outreach Program started during the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial as an educational outreach program. The program travelled to schools and organizations throughout the state of Montana to teach the public about the military aspects of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The program was so successful, both publicly and politically, that it expanded in scope to include the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. In addition, the history of the Montana National Guard will become a featured segment.
Travel back in time to the very beginnings of the volunteer militia in Montana. A time when citizen soldiers fought to see the state grow from a vast lawless territory into full-fledged statehood. Learn about the Kessler Banner and how it become the state flag. Learn about the Bozeman Trail and how the Montana National Guard helped protect settlers from maurading Indians. Learn how Montana National Guardsmen were an integral part of the Battle of Papuan, New Guinea during World War II.
Curriculum standards, as articulated by the National Council for the Social Studies, emphasize ten thematic strands. Four of them dovetail nicely into Heritage Outreach:
- Culture
- Time, Continuity and Change
- Individuals, Groups and Institutions
- Civic Ideas and Practices
To be more specific, study of culture helps students to understand themselves as members of various groups, each with a system of beliefs, knowledge, values and traditions. An introduction to our military heritage delineates where we, as Americans, have come from and how it has contributed to our current collective personality. For more information, please contact SSG Christine Easton at 406-467-0529 or SSG James Kelly at 406-461-3334.