Humanities Montana Is Seeking Nominations

Humanities Montana is now accepting nominations for the 2021 Governor’s Humanities Awards. These awards recognize individuals and organizations that demonstrate excellence in the public humanities. Leaders in the public humanities engage their communities in reflecting on diverse cultures, traditions, histories, and their relevance to current conditions of life. Past awards have recognized historians, novelists, tribal elders, philosophers, librarians, teachers, and other cultural leaders whose contributions have transformed lives and strengthened Montana’s communities. The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. on November 12, 2020.

According to Development Director, Sara Stout who made the announcement last week on behalf of Humanities Montana, there are no formal award categories or prerequisite accomplishments required. Nominees will be evaluated on their contributions to public-facing humanities programming, innovation, scholarship, and outreach. In fact, nominators are permitted to nominate themselves.

Interested individuals can access the nomination form at the Humanities Montana website: https://www.humanitiesmontana.org, where they will also find a full list of past awardees.

Previous winners of this recognition who have resided in North Central Montana include Mary Clearman Blew, an author and educator who taught in the English Department at Northern Montana College (now Montana State University—Northern) for nearly two decades. She won the award in 1986 and again in 1988.

Another former Havre resident, Antoinette (Toni) Hagener won the Governor’s Humanities Award in 1996. Among other accomplishments, she was the first curator for the H. Earl Clack Museum and was instrumental in establishing the original interpretation buildings at the Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump, independently constructing some of the structures that house exhibits of actual archeological digs. Hagener was also appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Montana Historical Society in 1970, serving three terms and as board chair from 1977-79.

In 2013, John and Anna Brumley of Havre were recognized for their commitment to the Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump, a site they managed for 23 years. In fact, John Brumley discovered the site of the buffalo jump when he was 14-years old, a discovery which led to his decision to eventually become an archeologist. Until his passing this past July, Brumley’s main interest was tipi rings and medicine wheels, topics on which he wrote several technical reports.

Anyone with questions about the nomination process is encouraged to contact Stout at sara.stout@humanitiesmontana.org. “In addition to nominating candidates, please share this message with your colleagues and humanities network throughout Montana and help us celebrate the public humanities throughout the state,” she said.

A nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and one of fifty-six independent councils across the United States, Humanities Montana is the state’s humanities council with a mission to serve communities through stories and conversation. To accomplish this mission, the council offers experiences that nurture the imagination as well as spark ideas that speak to Montanans’ diverse history, literature, and philosophy. Established in 1972, Humanities Montana was created in order to better infuse the humanities into public life.