Project Offers Memories For Residents
Tribal Archives
Those who wish to learn and view a good deal of this area’s history should check out the Fort Peck Community College Digital Tribal Archives.
A ton of memories can be found either on the group’s Facebook page or in person on the lower level of the college’s War Eagle Vision building in Poplar.
Ed Broaddus, the volunteer coordinator of the project, explains the project started about six months ago, but the availability of the building happened about only four months ago.
“This whole project was in the works for a long time,” said Broaddus, who has lived in the area for 57 years, Thanks to a large amount of donated books by author David Miller, who wrote The History of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes,
the project has between 600-800 books regarding the reservation and its historical individuals. Subjects of the books include history, cultural information and anthropology.
“The whole idea of the project is strengthening the Fort Peck community by reconnecting people through their history,” Broaddus explained.
More than 1,000 photos can be viewed, a good amount of them more than 100 years old. Many of the photos were donated by the Muskrat family.
Among the photos is one of the Poplar boarding school in 1887 with all of the students’ names listed.
“Some of them are very historic photographs,” Broaddus said. “Just about everybody on the reservation has a relative in these photos.”
Another family donated two plastic bins of historical photos including studio photos from about 125 years ago. Many of the photos feature families and children.
Other donations have included quilts, videos, a projector and a screen.
“I’ve been traveling all over the area,” Broaddus said of receiving donations. “I’m not trained in the field, but I’ve kind of trained myself.”
Assisting Broaddus with the project are student interns Sammy Brunelle and Isabelle Crawford-Bleazard.
Other treasures to be available include taped interviews that Broaddus conducted with elders during the 1970s. Establishing digital archives is a goal, but Broaddus wishes that someone with IT knowledge steps up and volunteers to help.
“We’re doing it because we’re interested in it,” Broaddus explained. “It’s really important work.”
He’s thankful that the Fort Peck Tribes provided initial funding and that the Fort Peck Community College is donating the room in-kind.
Broaddus said the response has been tremendous from community members.
“People are just blown away,” Broaddus said. “They are seeing photos of grandpa or great-grandparents that they haven’t ever seen before.”
He stressed that it’s important to collect this valuable items while there are still around and haven’t been sadly discarded.
“It’s a huge project,” Broaddus said. “Right now, we just want to keep it going.”
