Memorial Project At Council Grove State Park

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Project director for the Council Grove memorial, Julie Cajune, is coordinator of the Indian Education Program for School District 30 in Ronan.

Cajune said the memorial project at Council Grove State Park celebrates the cultural and spiritual ties of the people to their homelands, including Council Grove, and honors the elders of the Salish, Kootenai and Pend d’Oreille tribes who negotiated the Hell Gate Treaty of 1855 and who lived through those very trying transitional times.

Cajune designed the memorial, with the Salish & Pend d’Oreille Culture Committee and the assistance of Terry Tanner, member of the staff of the tribal Natural Resource Department who has been actively involved in cultural resource protection work..   Dan Decker, a lawyer with a private practice in St. Ignatius, wrote the text for the third panel. The memorial was constructed by Dan Roullier, a tribal member and private sign business owner. Ten major donors contributed to the construction of the memorial, including:

Montana Historical Society

Salish Kootenai Housing Authority

Salish Kootenai College Board of Directors

Salish Kootenai College Development Office

S & K Technology

S & K Electronics

Dr. Mary Stranahan

Museum at Fort Missoula

Missoula County Commissioners

Mission Valley Power

Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribal Council

Council Grove State Park is located west of Missoula on Mullan Rd. The park is open year round.