This month, we feature a special opportunity for Native women.

Improving rapport between Whites and Natives

Lucy Yellowmule, a young Crow barrel racer from Wyola, Mont., galloped into the Sheridan WYO Rodeo July 6, 1951. Her horsemanship wowed the crowd and her selection as rodeo queen inspired creation of All American Indian Days and the Miss Indian America Pageant. These institutions, widely praised for improving relations among the races, lasted decades. Read more in Greg Nickerson’s article “The Miss Indian America Pageant in Sheridan, Wyoming.”

National Historic Trails Interpretive Center events and activities

The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper has planned a July packed with events. For more information on the center and all these items, visit the NHTIC web page.
 
July 3, Native American Artist Demonstration and Live Pioneer Music:
Gerald Cournoyer, member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and accomplished painter, will demonstrate his art and Hank Cramer will provide live period banjo, guitar and vocal music.
 
July 4, patio talk: At 1 p.m. (inside) Daniel Mattern, “The History of Company I.”
 
July 10, Native American History Weekend: At 1 p.m. Willie LeClair, member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Indian Reservation, will present on Eastern Shoshone traditions and lifeways. 
 
July 11, Native American History Weekend: At 1 p.m. Donovin Sprague, a Minnicoujou Lakota from the Hump and Crazy Horse family and acclaimed author of 10 books, will present on Lakota and Cheyenne History on the Bozeman Trail & at Platte Bridge. Book signings will follow the presentation.
 
July 11, author presentation and book signing: At 3 p.m. Jerry Enzler will be at the Trails Center for a book signing and to present his new book, Jim Bridger: Trailblazer of the American West.
 
July 17, Songs from the Oregon Trail: At 1:00 p.m. the celebrated musical duo of “Buffalo Bill” and Dr. Jo will perform exciting songs about life on the Oregon Trail. 
 
July 17, trail trek: Trail sites near Fort Laramie and Guernsey, Wyo.
Noted sites will include pioneer graves, trail ruts and markers, and Register Cliff. All trail treks depart at 8:00 a.m. from the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center parking lot: 1501 North Poplar, Casper, Wyo., unless otherwise noted.
 
For the trek, please bring sack lunches, drinks, and sunscreen, and wear appropriate clothing. Be prepared for inclement weather throughout the day. Transportation to these sites will not be provided and carpooling is encouraged! 4wheel drive and high clearance vehicles are recommended. For more information and/or to register for any trail trek, please contact Jason Vlcan at 307-261-7783.
 
July 18, patio talk: At 1 p.m. (inside) Bruce Berst, “Dr. Dumas and the Snake oil Salesman .”  
 
July 24, Wheelwright and Wagon History: At 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Doug Hansen of South Dakota Hansen Wheel & Wagon Shop fame will share his story as a wheelwright and the fascinating history of wagons along Wyoming trails.
 
July 25, patio talk: At 1 p.m. (inside) Bruce Berst, “The Arms Race of the American Indian Wars.” 
 
July 31 and August 1, Pioneer Living History Weekend: Come up and see Casper-area living historian Jean Smart prepare a 19th century homesteading cabin, while other historic period reenactors demonstrate an authentic trail camp.
 
July 31, patio talk: At 1 p.m. (outside) Nic Skalicky and Daniel Mattern, civilian pioneer reenactment.

Fremont County Museums events and activities

The three Fremont County Museums—the Dubois Museum, the Lander Pioneer Museum, and the Riverton Museum--will begin a new promotion giving children free admission to the museums with a paying adult on the first Friday of every month. The museums are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
 
For more information, and for details about events below, see the Fremont  County Museums calendar of events for July. Highlights include:
 
July 8, 7 p.m. Talk: “Rising and Falling Mountains,” by geologist Matthew Brueske of Kansas State University, at the Dubois Museum. Brueske will give an overview of the forces that made the mountains and basins of the greater Yellowstone region. Part of the Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series, the talk is free and open to the public.
 
July 15, 7 p.m. Talk: “Lester Hunt: The Wyoming Governor, From Lander” by Charlotte Dehnert, at the Lander Pioneer Museum. Dehnert, whose book on Hunt came out last year, will speak on Hunt’s career as state legislator, secretary of state, governor of Wyoming and his five and a half years in the U.S. Senate. There, even Hunt's formidable skills as a Democrat in Republican territory could not overcome the ugliness of McCarthyism. He became one of its victims. Part of the Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series, the talk is free and open to the public.
 
July 22 and 23, 7 pm.: Two talks: “Butch Cassidy,” by Bill Bentenson, at the Dubois Museum July 22 and at the Lander Pioneer Museum July 23.  Author of the recently published Butch Cassidy: The Wyoming Years, Bentenson will speak on the outlaw’s first appearance in Fremont County in 1889, his time on Horse Creek north of Dubois, later arrest, trials, incarceration, release, Wyoming robberies and possible return from South America. Part of the Wyoming Community Bank Discovery Speakers Series, both talks are free and open to the public.

July treks and field trips: The Dubois Museum offers a geology trek to Torrey Canyon on Friday, July 9 and the museum’s annual Sheep Trap Mystery Trek Tuesday, July 13. Dubois Museum Day, Saturday July 17 is packed with events. The Lander Museum offers a trek to Upper Sinks Canyon July 9. The Riverton Museum offers a trek to the 1838 Rendezvous Site July 9. Find times, registration details and more linked from the three museums’ calendar of events.

Grand Encampment Museum

July 23–25, Sierra Madre Muzzleloader Mountain Man Rendezvous: Experience the Mountain Man life! This annual rendezvous coincides with Living History Day at the Grand Encampment Museum. Visitors can experience how mountain men and women lived in a fur trade economy in the 1830s.
 
July 24, Living History Day: Free Family oriented event! Experience local history at its finest. Smell the biscuits baking in a dutch oven, hear the ping of a blacksmith’s forge, try your hand at weaving . . . so much to see, hear, smell, and experience. 
 
For more information, see the museum’s events page.

Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum

July 5, 12 and 19, the museum will host programs and activities for children ages 7-12. Space limited to 25 children per program.
 
July 21, talk, Wine About History speakers series:  At 6 p.m., “Lakota Cheyenne History on the Bozeman Trail,” a talk by Donovin Sprague, Minnicoujou Lakota, descendant of Hump and Crazy Horse and author of many books.
 
Call (307) 684-9331 or visit the Gatchell Museum web page for more information.

Fourth of July Fort Fetterman Days

July 4, Fort Fetterman Days at the Fort Fetterman State Historic Site north of Douglas, 752 Wyoming Highway 93, with free, individually wrapped breakfast burritos and free events throughout the parade ground all day. Click here for more information.