Fort Shaw Indian School

More than 100 years ago, the first women’s basketball team in Montana made history traveling around the state and the country. Now, the town of Fort Benton is honoring the team’s legacy with a new mural.

Montana’s Legislature has passed a joint resolution recognizing the history of American Indian boarding schools and calling on the U.S. government to create a national day of remembrance. A proposal aiming to eliminate legal protection for abortion is headed to the governor.

Around 1892, two new entities serendipitously collided. One was Fort Shaw Indian School west of Great Falls. The other was the sport of basketball.