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Western Heritage Center Bataan March Exhibit

The Western Heritage Center 2822 Montana Avenue in Billings has six phenomenal exhibits about history, Crow and Cheyenne tribes.

Ben Steele: World War II

POW Exhibit

(Community Gallery)

Ben Steele, of Billings, Montana, was one of thousands of American soldiers captured in the Philippines at the beginning of World War II. The Western Heritage Center will host Ben Steele: World War II POW Exhibit through February 20, in the Community Gallery.

His three and one half years as a prisoner of war began with the infamous Bataan Death March., a 60-mile march that occurred after the three-month Battle of Bataan, part of the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42).

He was later interned under the severe conditions of several Japanese labor camps. His captivity ended after working in a Japanese coal mine less than 80 miles from the ground zero of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

During his internment, he began drawing images that recorded the extent of human degradation. The consequences of being caught making these drawings could have resulted in severe punishment or execution. He did drawings on whatever scraps of paper he could find and with whatever he could use to make a mark.

The drawings were hidden and kept, but all but two were destroyed in the sinking of a transport boat that was taking the prisoners to the Japanese Mainland. Steele then produced more drawings and several oil paintings that graphically document the suffering shared by the prisoners.

Several of the larger oil paintings will be on display at the Western Heritage Center this summer. Tears in the Darkness, a new book featuring Steele’s life story, written by Michael and Elizabeth Norman, has been receiving national acclaim and Steele was recently interviewed by the NY Times and Washington Post.

The Western Heritage Center, an American Association of Museums accredited regional history museum and Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, is located at 2822 Montana Avenue, in the former Parmly Billings Library building. To learn more about these programs and our upcoming exhibits, please visit our website: www.ywhc.org.

A Place Called Thorofare: People, Wilderness and Wildlife Management

(West Gallery)

The year 2005 marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Thorofare cabin, the center of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s backcountry outpost lying in the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – the most remote spot in the lower 48 states. Through historical and contemporary photography, the exhibition explores the spectacular Thorofare region, the cabin and its builders, and those who have used the outpost to help conserve wildlands and wildlife in this unique place. Since 1955, the outpost has been used for landmark wildlife research, monitoring, and management of grizzly, elk, wolf and numerous other species. Learn how it will be used to deal with more wildlife challenges and opportunities in the 21st century. This exhibit closes February 12.

Echoes of Eastern Montana:

Stories from an Open Country

(East Gallery)

This interactive exhibit shares stories of the people of the Yellowstone River Valley and Northern High Plains. Visitors can watch interviews, listen to amazing stories, read personal diaries, peruse family photo albums, copy favorite recipes, learn new Crow and Northern Cheyenne words, play games, and hear local music.

People in communities as diverse as Wibaux, Colstrip, Laurel, Hardin, Forsyth, Harlowton and Billings tell compelling stories of sacrifice and struggle and offer lessons about leadership, home, and family.

Laugh at outrageous tales and discover the changing world of Eastern Montana through December 31, 2010.

The American Indian Tribal Histories Project

(Dude Ranch Lobby)

The permanent American Indian Tribal Histories Project Exhibit provides visitors with an overview of Montana’s Native American tribes through maps, tribal flags and an explanation of their symbols, Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribal member oral histories and a chronology of the American Indian Tribal Histories Project, whose mission is to preserve and maintain American Indian tribal histories and culture.

The Western Heritage Center, an American Association of Museums accredited regional history museum and Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, is located at 2822 Montana Avenue, in the former Parmly Billings Library building. To learn more about these programs and upcoming exhibits, please visit ywhc.org or contact Lisa Olmsted at 256-6809 or lisa@ywhc.org.