by John Dowd
On the Fourth of July, while many were out celebrating the birth of independence for the nation, a few were celebrating another great American achievement: the expedition of Lewis and Clark. One of the stops on the trail of the Corps of Discovery was in Darby, and it was on the Fourth of July that the party was passing through the Darby area and into the Bitterroot Valley. To celebrate the journey of the Corps, and to honor one of the key members, the Bitterroot Heritage Civic Group has been working on Sacajawea Park.
Last week, on the Fourth, the civic group held their annual Sacajawea Day, to remember how Sacajawea played numerous important roles for the adventure. This was the sixth year they have held Sacajawea Day. Gay Findley, the president of the Bitterroot Heritage Civic Group, said the group has been in the area for a long time, and does a lot of things for Darby and the surrounding area. Speaking about what the civic group has accomplished, she said they were instrumental in establishing the crosswalks in Darby, and give scholarships to area residents. They also do the road banners in Darby, but a big part of their activities revolve around the Sacajawea Park.
“I’d like to see our history remain current with the public,” said Findley. Before the group’s work on the park, it was an “eyesore,” where an old building had burned down. They have been raising money to clean up the space and have put up informational signs, as well as a bronze statue of Sacajawea with her child there. There is also a huge mural along one of the walls that has been in progress for a couple of years.
The mural in Sacajawea Park. Photo courtesy Jayne Azzarello.
The big event every year is the group’s Sacajawea Day, which they believe is pertinent that day because that was the time of year the Corps of Discovery found themselves in the Darby area. Darby was also one of only a few areas the Corps visited twice in their journey.
During the presentations, the first welcomed on stage by Findley was Jayne Azzarello, the artist, and group member, who has been painting the mural. Azzarello said she has a scientific illustration background, and has been working with Darby students Carlos Alonzo and Sophia Hamblen for the last couple years to paint the mural.
Azzarello said the subject of the mural has been a joy to research. Searching for a subject to depict on the wall in the park started with the idea that it should showcase something about the time the Corps came through Darby. This was an instrumental time where Sacajawea’s importance to the Corps was at its utmost. By pure chance, they ran into a tribe of Native Americans when the Corps needed help in a dire way. It also happened that the chief of the tribe was Sacajawea’s brother, Cameahwait. The Shoshone chief helped the Corps and allowed them to continue their journey.
According to Azzarello, the time the Corps spent in the Darby area, especially on their return journey, is a subject that has not been covered in great detail. She also stated that she has done some horse packing, and when looking at the trek the Corps, she noted that at one time they had over 50 horses. From her packing experience, that is an incredible feat, especially considering that many of these horses were likely still a bit wild at heart, having been bred in the West and given to the Corps by the Native Americans.
According to Azzarello’s research, the Corps camped at the north shore of the West Fork of the Bitterroot River at that time, and even lost a few horses, sending a handful of men to retrieve them. She said this long pack train, and their time in Darby, was the action she wanted to depict.
Azzarello hopes the mural’s paint work will be completed by the end of this summer. After that, the civic group was able to obtain a grant from the Rapp Family Foundation for some metal work that will become part of the mural. This metal portion will include a floral border around a map, with trails depicting where the Corps traveled. The floral depictions will be based on plants described in the journals of Lewis and Clark, many of which Sacajawea would likely have taught the Corps how to identify and use.
This floral theme made it into the presentation given by the star speaker of the day, Rose Ann Abrahamson, an educator and cultural history expert with the Lemhi Shoshone people. She is also the descendant niece of Sacajawea, tracing her ancestry back to Chief Cameahwait.
Rose Ann Abrahamson and her daughter WIllow give their presentation during Darby’s Sacajawea Day. Photo by John Dowd.
Abrahamson has come the last couple years to present at Darby’s Sacajawea Day, mainly to give the perspective of the natives and to honor her ancestors. This year, she attended with her daughter, Willow Abrahamson, and both gave a talk about Sacajawea’s perspective, as well as on several native plants that the Corps would likely have learned from Sacajawea. This presentation tied into the upcoming metal work project to go along with the mural.
According to Findley, it is always a wonderful treat to have Rose come out to present and said Rose “loves coming back into the valley because of the family connection.”
The civic group hosts a car show as well that helps raise money for the work they do. They have an upcoming chili contest on September 27, with a raffle they started during Sacajawea Day. The chili contest starts at 11 a.m. and will be in the Darby Clubhouse. They will also host an author’s gathering, inviting Montana authors to attend and read excerpts from their books. It is a fun networking event that Findley says has been a success every year. The will take place August 9, starting at 10 a.m.
For more information on the Bitterroot Heritage Civic Group events, Sacajawea Park and more, interested parties can call Findley at (406) 531-4172.