GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- The bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition provides tourists the occasion for adventure and
discovery in America's West.
Commemorative events began at Thomas Jefferson's Virginia home
Monticello in January on the anniversary of his request for money
to fund the trip, but because the expedition did not end until
September 1806 -- and because it stretched from the St. Louis area
to the Pacific -- countless observances are scheduled for points
across the U.S. for the next three years.
Given that about a quarter of the expedition's 28-month travel
time was spent in Montana, the state is in the forefront of
planning and promoting the commemorations.
The St. Louis-based National Council of the Lewis and Clark
Bicentennial designated 15 "signature events" in 13 states as the
premier commemorative festivities, based on the sites' historical
relevance, location and tribal involvement, among other
factors.
This year sees only two: Aside from the January event, the
second is set for Oct. 14 to 26 to recall the 1803 rendezvous of
Lewis and Clark in Louisville, Ky., and their departure from
Clarksville, Ind.
All other premier events are set for 2004 through 2006,
following the chronology of the expedition itself, which set off on
May 14, 1804.
Two events are set for Montana: Clark on the Yellowstone, which
will take place July 22 to 25, 2006, in and around Billings, and
the longest premier event, Explore the Big Sky, set for June 1 to
July 4, 2005, in Great Falls and nearby Fort Benton.
Besides recalling the expedition through lectures, exhibits,
reenactments and hands-on events, Explore the Big Sky will focus
heavily on Plains Indian culture.
Visitors will explore a traditional village and cultural
displays presented by Montana tribes. The schedule also includes
the International Traditional Indian Games and the premiere of an
opera telling the story of Scarface, a legend in the Blackfeet
culture.
There will be commissionable package tours offered for regular
events as well as options built around Montana signature events;
local travel agents are getting into the act, too.
The extended Great Falls commemoration reflects the fact the
expedition spent about six weeks in the area, largely because
members had to haul boats and supplies overland to bypass a series
of five cascades that impended their progress up the Missouri.
Great Falls already was seen as a focal point for things
Lewis-and-Clark-related in 1988, when Congress established the
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center and
funded half the $6 million cost. Sitting on the banks of the
Missouri, the Great Falls facility opened in May 1998.
In 1989, the annual Lewis and Clark Festival was born here; the
five-day event is set for June 23 to 27. During the longer,
bicentennial signature event in 2005, the festival will occur June
22 to 26.
In anticipation of bigger things, I sampled the center and the
festival this summer. The interpretive facility (admission is $5
per adult) is a top-notch way to "see" the Old West.
At the center, visitors follow a path lined with exhibits that
tell the Lewis and Clark story chronologically. Even the "trail"
underfoot tells a story, with blue or brown carpeting to indicate
the changing modes of travel.
Much of the story is laid out in interactive fashion, so
visitors can, for example, pull a "canoe" to test their towing
capacity; attempt to bridle a horse with materials available to
Plains Indians; or feel the weight of an infant in a cradleboard
(as did Sacagawea).
The centerpiece of the 6,000-square-foot exhibit is a two-story
diorama of life-size men pulling a canoe up a cliff beside the
river's waterfalls.
The facility also is the setting for numerous activities related
to the expedition. I attended a session in which the speaker
described and invited listeners to try their hand with the code
Lewis and Clark used to protect sensitive materials in missives
sent to President Jefferson.
The annual Lewis and Clark Festival includes free access to a
Lewis and Clark encampment, at which reenactors play the parts of
expedition members while taking no notice of visitors;
demonstrations of the skills needed for the journey; and a Plains
Indian encampment, where modern Native Americans mix lessons on
19th century and 21th century Indian life.
Skills demonstrations included navigation, weapons care,
medicine, boat building and skinning a beaver. We were assured no
one killed a beaver just for this; a carcass was saved for the
occasion.
Attendees also could visit tepees, listen to Indian storytellers
or see demonstrations of traditional dancing.
Remembering that the expedition primarily was a river trip,
events also included "float" trips on the Missouri, at $15.
Another $15 let us attend Camp Cooking With the Corp, a meal
event at the interpretive center offering samples of foods
mentioned in the explorers' journals.
The buffalo in bacon and the sausage made with buffalo were
edible and the smoked salmon was familiar and tasty, but the hard
tack, boiled yucca root and pickled, prickly pear pods were awful.
I finished the evening amused, better educated -- and hungry.
To contact Nadine Godwin, send e-mail to [email protected].
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