Distinctly Montana Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.distinctlymontana.com/i/1541969
60 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 5 - 2 0 2 6 A S YOU STEP THROUGH THE FRONT DOORS INTO THE THREE CHIEFS MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTER IN PABLO, tribal headquarters of the Flathead Indian Reservation, you might become a little dizzy. The gift shop that dominates the space is absolutely exploding with bright colors and patterns, and it's almost overwhelming. From the Native-made hand- bags, backpacks, hats and jackets to the insulated drink cups and fuzzy blankets, it's like being inside a kaleidoscope. Beyond the racks, at the back of the store, more color bursts forth in the beading and sewing corner—threads, beads and fabric in every color you've ever seen, and a few you never knew existed. The powerfully cheerful ambience of the gift shop stands in shocking contrast to the dark events of September 6, 2020, when the Salish and Kootenai tribes' repository of hundreds of pre- cious tribal treasures went up in flames. At the end of a long, difficult summer when everyone was navi- gating the pandemic lockdown and all the other troubles of that ugly year, Julian Michael Draper broke into the locked People's Center cultural center and museum and proceeded to barricade the entrances. Draper, 33, had been arrested just the previous week for setting a fire at the old Plum Creek sawmill site less than a block from the People's Center and was out on bail. The IN PABLO, THREE CHIEFS MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTER IS THE REBIRTH Risen from the Ashes by EDNOR THERRIAULT PHOTO COURTESY MARIE TOROSIAN PHOTO COURTESY MARIE TOROSIAN Several companies responded to the fire when it was reported at 8:00 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2020, but could not gain entrance to the building until hours later as the doors and windows had been blocked from inside. When the People's Center opened in the fall of 1995, it was the culmination of years of work and planning by the Salish and Kootenai tribes. Its award-winning design represented the drum and the eagle, two powerful symbols of tribal culture.