FIRST VOICES
CURRENT AND FUTURE PROJECTS
FIRST VOICES: FORT PECK (STARTS SPRING 2023)
First Voices: Fort Peck is a partnership between Thresh and Fort Peck Community College (FPCC) based in Poplar, Montana. The program’s mentorship component is tailored specifically to serve students from FPCC and Fort Peck’s Wolf Point, Brockton, Frazer and Poplar high schools.
The First Voices: Fort Peck project will honor, amplify, and preserve the cultures and values of the Assiniboine, Sioux, and Chippewa communities of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation through the sharing of three stories that have survived and helped each community retain their identities and values.
The three project stories have been identified in collaboration with tribal elders, council members and educators.
Assiniboine: Rocky Point is a true story about resilience in the face of a deadly epidemic. This resonates with younger generations in the contemporary context of Covid-19. The story concerns the last smallpox epidemic that ravaged the upper Missouri River tribes from 1836-1840. The Assiniboine, who were eventually placed on the Fort Peck Reservation along with the Sioux, tell of how their people ran from the disease and the resulting struggle of their families and relatives. This story is ultimately one of survival and resilience, and demonstrates the need to preserve—and learn from—nearly forgotten Native histories.
Sioux: The White Buffalo Calf Woman is an ancestral story emphasizing the value of tradition and continuity. The story relates how, during a time of great famine, two scouts sent to hunt buffalo in the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota saw something approaching in the distance. At first, they thought it was a white buffalo calf; but as it came closer, they saw it was a beautiful young Indian woman. She reminded the people to always walk in a sacred way upon the Earth, respecting the environment, and shared the significance of the sacred pipe. This story is the heart of the values of the Sioux people.
Chippewa: As yet untitled, this is a true story of change and accommodation, exploring the meaning of “home.” It offers a contemporary reflection of Chippewa history, and depicts how colonialism negatively impacted an already struggling and marginalized Native population. Many displaced Chippewa settled on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation when it was established in 1888. Some intermarried with the Assiniboine and Sioux in the four reservation communities that ran along the upper Missouri River—however they often lived as outcasts, with little to no political and economic power. Through this story, students will explore issues of discrimination, identity and integration.

Joseph R. McGeshick
Historian / Professor /
Project Co-Leader

Scott Smoker
Graphic Artist / Documentary Film-maker

Preeti Vasudevan
Artistic Director (Thresh) / Project Co-Leader

Linda Henson
Cultural & Educational Adviser (FPCC)

Thomas Christian
Elder / Tribal Liaison / Consultant

Roxann Smith
Cultural Adviser / Native Studies instructor (FPCC)

Cal Christian
Project Manager /
First Voices (FPCC)
First Voices: Fort Peck team
FIRST VOICES: LAME DEER (2020-2022)
First Voices was initiated as a response to the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. With the death of many elders, the younger generation was experiencing a critical loss—of ancestral connection, of hope and empowerment through the power of storytelling between the generations.
Thresh's connection with Lame Deer began in 2017 when Founder & Artistic Director Preeti Vasudevan visited the school system as a storyteller-educator for Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad organization. While working with the students and elders of the community, she recognized fascinating parallels with her own South Asian (Indian) heritage: by tapping into the ancient wisdom of elders, the younger generation can connect to their heritage and find ways to apply this wisdom to their own lives in a contemporary context.

Lame Deer stories
Our partnership with the students of Lame Deer High School, and the elders of the Northern Cheyenne tribe produced two stories.
The Great Race (A Northern Cheyenne story)
The Great Race is the students’ interpretation of the ancient Northern Cheyenne story told through art, narrative, and choreography. Premiered at Yellowstone Art Museum, the filming was accompanied by a panel discussion with students and artists, reinforcing the deep need for intertribal collaboration.

Tsèhésenètsestotse (A Northern Cheyenne story)
Our first story (December 2020) was derived from a Northern Cheyenne origin story—how the Big Dipper was formed. The digital story performance involved Thresh and artists from three Montana tribes: Northern Cheyenne; Blackfeet and Chippewa Cree.