Public History Field School 2011, Virginia City, MT – Salmon, ID

As an extension of elements of the 2010 public history field school, students will conduct and finalize research at several locations in southwestern Montana, visiting archival repositories, museums, libraries, and courthouses. They will receive instruction in “pitching tipis” in Virginia City, in preparation for camping at the Agai Dika Gathering on Hayden Creek in Idaho’s Lemhi Valley. They will construct and set up a two-night campsite on the Hayden Creek Campsite, and they will be offered the opportunity to participate in the historic Agai Dika Walk/Run up historic Lemhi Pass, a 12 mile walk commemorating the 1907 removal of the mixed-bands of Lemhi Indians from the Lemhi Valley to the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.

Students will present PowerPoint presentations of their work, explaining their research methods and presenting their findings. Students will write press releases, take photographs and video student activities throughout the field school, and they will work in conjunction with Naka Productions, the documentary film company from North Carolina coming to shoot video of the Agai Dika Gathering and to interview tribal elders.

Provide students with immersive, practical, hands-on, experience in many aspects of Public History and Cultural Resource Management. Unlike traditional internships which generally focus in a single area of study, the Public History Field School is designed to provide students a broader selection of “real world” work experience in the various sub-fields encountered in Public History employment. Experiences of this sort have direct connections to subsequent employment opportunities in the field of Public History. For instance, students completing this field course will be able to include the following CV entry:

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