How are people today carrying out Plenty Coups' vision?

Many groups have joined together to take care of Chief Plenty Coups' house. They have built a museum for his belongings. They try to learn from the things that they find there and to teach this to others. Plenty Coups encouraged people to come here from all over the world to learn about his people. In one of his quotations, he said he wanted to leave his home "...as a gathering place for all cultures, to learn how to live and work together harmoniously." He certainly did all he could during his years as a leader to live up to that goal.

After his death a lot of people believed that this facility needed to fulfill the commitments that were made to Plenty Coups. There were groups, such as the Kiwanis Club of Billings, that operated Plenty Coups' house as a public facility during the 1940s and 50s. It became a Montana State Park in 1965 and has been administered as a historical cultural facility in the State of Montana since that time.

In recent years, a group called The Chief Plenty Coups Advisory Council (Friends) has formed for people who believe in the legacy of Chief Plenty Coups. They also believe that this facility has incredible value that can be carried forward. There are a number of activities at the facility each year with people who feel strongly that this place is meant to be a bridge between cultures and to promote peace and understanding between all people, as Plenty Coups wisely said while he was alive.

The fact that many good things are happening to the museum, to the house, to the park as a whole and to the Plenty Coups Advisory Council (Friends), is evidence that the facility is emphasizing values needed in the world today. This facility functioning as a peaceful effort between the Indian and non-Indian cultures is becoming reality.

The current museum facility built in 1972, replaced a museum that was operated out of the south room of the Chief's house for approximately 15-20 years by the Billings Kiwanis Club. Many of the artifacts that Plenty Coups left are either on display or in the museum's storage vault. Displays use some actual artifacts and some copies. Copies are used when the original artifacts are too delicate or sensitve to display.

From: Chief Plenty Coups State Park Museum Tour Content