Despite blustery wind and freezing temperatures, a small crowd assembled to celebrate the completion of a huge black-and-white mural. It wraps around an electrical substation and depicts herds of bison charging forward. They’re flanked by stars and poems written by Salish author Debra Magpie Earling and elder Vic Charlo.
Charlo’s daughter, April, read a version of her father’s poem in the Salish language. Her brother, CSKT councilman Martin Charlo, read the original.
April Charlo has devoted much of her life to learning and teaching Salish. She said signs in the windows of some Montana businesses once read, “No dogs or Indians allowed.”
“Those who fought through that, and fought through colonization, in order to be able to pass this language down — today was to honor them,” Charlo said.
The state is recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day alongside Columbus Day for the first time this year. After legislative attempts over more than a decade, the holiday became law this spring.
The Missoula mural is the first phase of the city’s Downtown Riverside Arts Walls project — or D.R.A.W.
