The Fort Shaw Indian School Girls Basketball Team might not be a household name in Montana today. But Shannon Walden with Destination Fort Benton says it should be.
"Think about what it took to be playing basketball in wool dresses as a young woman in the early 1900s"
Young Indigenous women from Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota tribes comprised the first-of-its-kind team. Starting in 1897, they played exhibition games around the state. By 1904 they were titled "World Basket Ball Champions” at the St. Louis World’s Fair.
Walden says two years ago, they realized their Fort Benton Pharmacy building had hosted the team.
"This building is the only building left standing those girls played in. And I said, oh, we got to do something."
Using a Pilot Tourism Grant, Fort Benton recently contracted a mural to honor them. The mural was painted by Billings-based artist Rilie Tanè.
According to the Montana Historical Society, the girls navigated the challenges of forced assimilation at their boarding school and anti-tribal sentiments as they played.
Ardis Cecil is a descendant of women who played on the team. Cecil says when she first learned of her family history, "I was very emotional, I was amazed and overwhelmed."
In 2024, Cecil visited the Fort Benton Pharmacy Building where the game took place over 100 years prior.
"It was just wonderful to be there and think that my Aunt Nettie had been there and played an exhibition game there," Cecil says.
An official event honoring the team will take place in Fort Benton on June 9.
