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Hello,
This is another installment in our regular report to
you and others here in the region on the activities of the O'Connor Center for
the Rocky Mountain West. We want to keep you informed about what we're doing
and hope that you continue to have an interest in the Center and its work.
From all of us
at the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, The University of Montana
St.
Ignatius Mission Church
provided by William Farr
The
Salish, influenced by a number of Iroquois Indians who were involved with the
fur trade, became interested in acquiring Christianity for themselves. After a
series of efforts, the Salish and their Nez Perce friends finally reached St.
Louis where they petitioned Roman Catholic Bishop Rosati for a missionary. The
result was the involvement of the energetic Jesuit priest Pierre-Jean DeSmet,
who first visited the Flathead-Nez Perce in 1840 at the fur trade rendezvous
and who returned the following year to the Bitterroot Valley with two other
priests and three lay brothers to construct St. Mary's Mission. While St.
Mary's thrived from 1841-1846, it found less and less support on the part of
the Salish. By 1850, St. Mary's Mission was sold to Major John Owen who
converted the mission to a trading post.
The Jesuit setback, however, was only temporary. In
1854, Father Adrian Hoecken moved an earlier mission, St. Ignatius, from
farther  west to the fertile
valley south of Flathead Lake. The
renewed missionary effort for the Pend d'Orielles,
Flatheads, and Kootenai Indians was a pronounced success,
particularly after the Hellgate Treaty of 1855, which located the proposed Salish
Kootenai Reservation in what became known as the "Mission Valley."
The photograph is of the brick church that was built
in the early 1890s and displays 61 original paintings by Brother Joseph
Carignano, S.J., and is now designated as a National Historic Site.
St. Ignatius Mission Church, ca. 1907
Photograph by Edward H. Boos | |
recent activities
On
March 30, in Helena, Mont., Senior Fellow Pat Williams was the keynote speaker
at a celebration of the Montana Human Rights Network.
On
March 26 in Park City, Utah, Senior Fellow
Daniel Kemmis addressed this year's Leadership Park
City class, as well as invited alumni of the leadership program, on
"Opportunities for Citizen Leadership in the Changing West."
On
March 22 in Morden, Manitoba, Center Director Larry Swanson gave the opening
keynote address at the 2007
Manitoba Planning Conference entitled "Planning Works -
Building for Success." Swanson's presentation was entitled "Better Positioning
Communities for Successful Change." He
also led an extended training workshop for conference participants the
following day.
On
March 15 in Missoula, Mont., Senior Fellow Bob Brown was the program speaker at
the Sentinel Kiwanis Club and spoke on the topic of the emergence of modern
China and its implications to Montana.
On
March 6 in Sidney and March 7 in Miles City, Brown was the luncheon speaker at
this year's series of Economic Outlook Seminars. This was the 32nd year
for these seminars presented by the University of Montana's Bureau of Business
and Economic Research. This year's seminar theme was "Rising Asia." Brown's
presentation focused on his teaching and related experiences at Nankai
University in Tianjn, China, spring semester, 2006.
In
early March, National Public Radio (NPR) featured former Congressman Williams
on a news program during which he explained the effect of the Indian
Self-Governance Act on the National Bison Range in Western Montana.
On
March 2 in Bozeman, Mont., Swanson spoke at a
board meeting of the
Greater Yellowstone Coalition - a non-profit organization
that works in areas of environmental protection in the larger 3-state
Yellowstone Region. He discussed the growing compatibility of
environmental protection and community development objectives in the region.
On
Feb. 28, in Washington, D.C., former Congressman Williams, along with Gov.
Schweitzer, gave opening testimony at the first of a series of hearings on "The
Evolving West."
On
Feb. 22, in Missoula, Mont., Swanson did a radio
interview on growth challenges in the Missoula Valley that was broadcast the
following Sunday as part of the Missoula Organization of Realtors
"Live
Missoula" program.
On
Feb. 21, in Missoula, Mont., Swanson spoke to the Sunrise Rotary Club of
Missoula, discussion growth and demographic trends in the Missoula Valley.
On
Feb. 20, in Missoula, Mont., Swanson gave an invited presentation to management
and staff of Lambros Realty, examining population growth and housing trends in
the Missoula and surrounding area.
On
Feb. 14, in Missoula, Mont., Williams presented the keynote address to the 40th
annual meeting of the American Fisheries Society.
project
activity
Center
Senior Fellows Bob Brown and Daniel Kemmis co-authored two newspaper columns on
state efforts in the Rocky Mountain West to coordinate presidential primaries
and caucuses in 2008 to give the region a greater voice in presidential
candidates. One column, focusing on Montana, appeared in the
Montana Standard, on March 1, the
Billings Gazette on March 4, and the
Helena Independent Record on March 8. The other column, written for a
broader regional audience, was featured in the
Denver Post on March 17.
Larry
Swanson and Doug Lawrence of the Center recently completed a study report of
the 25-county area economy of the larger 3-state Yellowstone Region, with
funding by the
Yellowstone Business Partnership and in cooperation with
Limelight Consulting. His report is entitled: "Growth and Change
in the Yellowstone Region," March, 2007.
Swanson
also is completing work on a study of the Jefferson County area economy for the
Jefferson Local
Development Corp. and he finalized his report on the
Montana-Canada trade relationship for the Consul General of Canada Office in
Denver.
Swanson
also recently co-authored with Pat Inman a chapter for a book of readings
assembled by the PASCAL OBSERVATORY entitled Social Capital, Lifelong Learning
Regions, and the Management of Place: An International Perspective, to
be published by Routledge. The chapter by Inman and Swanson is entitled,
"Cities as Engines of Growth," and focuses on work in Billings toward making
that city a "learning community."
recent
quotes from the region
as provided by
Headwaters News
"There's
no such thing as picky grizzly bears."
University
of Alberta biologist Mark Boyce, about a multiyear study
of
grizzly bears that found the massive animals quite well-equipped
to survive any changes wrought by climate change.
- Edmonton Journal
02/15/07
"The
only change we've had after irrigating with this water for 120 years is CBM
(coalbed methane). Who else am I going to blame?"
Roger
Muggli, a Montana farmer who blames
discharge water
from coalbed methane operations for ruining his alfalfa fields.
- Missoulian (AP)
02/21/07
"There's
no threat. It's just a way to make us look bad."
Rulon
Jones, former NFL lineman and owner of a
game preserve
in Idaho, where state wildlife officials tried unsuccessfully to
remove wild game fenced in on the property.
- Idaho Falls Post-Register
03/08/07
"We
waited 13 years, and we still don't have anything to manage the aquifer."
Roger
Ling, the attorney for an Idaho irrigation district
that issued a water call to force the state to address
allocation issues of the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.
- Twin Falls Times-News
03/20/07
"This
is not the type of growth that any community wants."
Susie
Velasquez, Weld County trustee, on the
huge increase in foreclosures seen in the Colorado county in 2006.
- Los Angeles Times
03/22/07
"The
attitude of the park has changed. They're all a bunch of bunny-huggers."
Gavin
Greever, a Cody, Wyo., resident, who spoke against
a proposal by the National Park Service to
close the east
entrance of Yellowstone National Park in the winter time.
- Casper Star-Tribune (AP)
03/23/07
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"When
Bob Dylan wrote the words, 'The times they are a changin' he could well have
been referring to today's Rocky Mountain West."
Pat Williams' opening
line of testimony before a congressional
hearing on the subject The Evolving West
- Washington, D.C.
February 28, 2007
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regional trends
Recent Growth Trends in Montana
Population declined in Montana between 1985 and 1990,
then grew by almost 10 percent between 1990 and 1995. This pace of growth
decreased to only 3 percent from 1995 to 2000 and continued at only 3.6 percent
growth from 2000 to 2005. But while population growth cooled after the
mid-'90s, income growth heated up, increasing by 14.4 percent from 1990 to 1995
and by 18 percent from 1995 to 2000. Income growth is continuing more recently,
increasing by over 17 percent since 2000.
Click here for more...
center
in the news
West
can have influence - Denver Post, March 17, 2007
State
should join West primary - Helena Independent Record, March 8,
2007
Guest
Opinion: Montana should join Western primary - Billings Gazette,
March 4, 2007
President
tall order for Dems in West - Denver Post,
March 4, 2007
"Don't
Build It and They Will Come": The Evolving West - Global Public Media,
March 3, 2007
A
unified voice - The Montana Standard, March 1, 2007
Schweitzer
and Williams Pitch West to Congressional Committee - NewWest,
Feb. 28, 2007
Gazette
Opinion: State Senate denies voters local control - Billings Gazette,
Feb. 28, 2007
Session
reaches halfway point - Choteau Acantha,
Feb. 28, 2007
Congress
puts focus on West's evolution - Missoulian,
Feb. 26, 2007
Montana
nixes local sales tax option - Casper Star Tribune, Feb. 25,
2007
Last
local-option tax bill defeated - Billings Gazette,
Feb. 24, 2007
Swanson
to discuss Missoula's growth on radio program - New West Network,
Feb. 23, 2007
upcoming events
On
April 3-5 in Fort Collins, Colo., Senior Fellow
Daniel Kemmis will speak at a conference at Colorado State University entitled,
"People
and Land in a New Century: A Blueprint for Conservation that Works."
This also is the working title for a forthcoming book, to which Kemmis is
contributing a chapter.
On
April 3 in Billings,
Mont., Center Director Larry Swanson will participate in a community forum
entitled "Business
and Education: Working Together for Billings' Future."
The forum focuses on workforce development needs in advancing Billings and its
region in the future and features presentations by Wes Jurey of the Arlington,
Texas, Chamber of Commerce and Jack Copps, who is superintendent of Billings
Public Schools. The forum is sponsored by
Celebrate Billings Partners.
On
April 6 in Bozeman, Mont., Swanson will speak at a breakfast forum entitled
"Bozeman
Area Economic Growth and Workforce Challenges."
The program is sponsored by the Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce and MSU
College of Technology.
On
April 6, in Durango, Colo., Headwaters News Assistant Editor
Daniel Berger will speak at the 25th annual
Southwestern Water Conservation District conference. Berger will also
cover the 4th annual
State of the Rockies Conference in Colorado Springs, April 9-11,
reporting live from the event.
On
April 12 in Lincoln, Neb., Swanson will give the
second annual
Grasslands Foundation Lecture at the University of Nebraska
entitled "Can
the Path be Altered: Salvaging and Renewing Rural Communities in the
Plains." On April 13, he will participate in a panel discussion at
the University of Nebraska with others working in rural development.
His visit is being sponsored by the Grasslands Foundation, Center for Great
Plains Studies, UNL Rural Initiatives program, RUPRI Center for Rural
Entrepreneurship, UNL Economics Department, UNL Center for Grassland Studies,
UNL School of Natural Resources, and the Prairie Plains Resource
Institute.
On
April 17, Senior Fellow Pat Williams will attend his final meeting as a member
of the national board of the
Association of Governing Boards. The Association is the
support and service institution for most of the nation's Boards of Regents and
the various trustees of colleges and universities. The meeting
will be held in Asheville, North Carolina.
On
April 19, in Missoula, Mont., the Center will co-sponsor the
Fifth Annual Hammond Lecture in Western/
Environmental History with the Hammond Endowment in the History Department.
Guest speaker will be William deBuys, professor of documentary studies at the
College of Santa Fe and an environmental historian and activist. His speech is
entitled "Aldo Leopold: A Critical Look at an Essential Man" and will begin at
7:30 p.m. in the North Underground Lecture Hall on UM's campus.
On
April 20, in Bozeman, Mont., Williams will address the
Sonoran Institute as they celebrate the publication of their new book Building
From the Best in the West.
On
April 24 in Polson, Mont., Swanson will speak to the Polson area
Rotary Club, discussing area growth trends.
On
April 27, in Kalispell, Mont., Senior Fellow Bob Brown will speak at the
Glacier County Pachyderm Club on the topic of emerging China.
In
late April, at the Feathered Pipe Ranch near Helena, Williams will convene the
Progressive Leadership Seminar. Current and emerging leaders
attend four weekend seminars each year in conjunction with the Progressive
Institute of Montana. This is the third year of the seminar.
On
May 1 in Missoula, Mont., Swanson will speak at a
meeting of the Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce, discussing growth and change
in the Missoula Valley and challenges and opportunities for the future.
Milwaukee Station, home of the
O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West
links
Center Web Site
Archived Center Newsletters
Headwater's
News
The University of Montana
KUFM Public Radio
The
O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West is a program of The University of
Montana in Missoula.
Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River
Yellowstone National Park |
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