Join us for an opening reception for the new exhibit, “In Good Faith,” at the Regional History Museum in Forest Service Park on Friday, August 30th from 4:00-5:30 p.m.
The exhibit will be on view at the Regional History Museum from August 28, 2019 – October 26, 2019. Curated by Dr. Orlan Svingen, Professor of History at Washington State University (WSU) and his students, it is the story of the 1868 Virginia City Treaty between the United States Government and the Shoshone Tribe, which was never ratified by the government. The centerpiece of the exhibit is the 57-minute documentary of the same title, which focuses on the treaty.
The treaty was negotiated “in good faith,” and signed in 1868 by Chief Tendoy, the leader of the Mixed-Band of Shoshone, Bannock, and Sheep Eater people in southwestern Montana Territory. Tendoy then ceded 32,000 square miles of aboriginal territory in 1870 for a permanent treaty reservation in central Idaho. The treaty, however, was never ratified. In 1875, the United States accepted this treaty reservation cession of 32,000 square miles in exchange for a temporary reservation in the Salmon River country of Idaho. In 1905, the U.S. rescinded that temporary reservation, prompting the Mixed-Band’s 200-mile removal south to the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. The film highlights the discovery of a National Archives document, which reveals what many regard as a violation of the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The documentary film, In Good Faith (2018), is written and directed by Beverly Benninger, narrated by Forest Goodluck, and produced by Beverly Penninger and Alyson Young. The production company is Naka Productions, Inc.
The exhibit tells this story through text panels, moving photographs, paintings, film, and through contemporary Shoshone artisan work and craft objects. This work has been made possible by the generous support from John W. and Janet M. Creighton.
The opening reception is free and open to the public. Come meet the curators, Dr. Orlan Svingen and Jared Chastain, and figures in the film, including Leo Arriwite.
