Date: Friday, January 23, 2026
Time: 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Location: The Native Plant Garden at Fort Missoula (directions)
Cost: $10 MNHC members/$15 non-members

For millennia, Indigenous people passed the winter telling stories. Some stories – particularly trickster stories – were allowed to be told only in winter, or when the land was covered with snow. This winter, spend an evening with Anishinaabe/Métis storyteller and 11th Montana poet laureate Chris La Tray and the Montana Natural History Center in
dipping our toes fireside into this ancient, inter-tribal tradition.

THIS IS AN OUTDOOR, WINTER EVENT
This is an evening, wintry, outdoor event – there will be cold and snow. Please dress for the weather and note that there will be very limited artificial light. There will be an outdoor bonfire to keep us warm and light our way. Guests should bring their own camp chairs (MNHC will NOT be providing). A porta potty will be onsite and available for use.

Includes hot beverages (such as cider and hot chocolate).

About Chris La Tray: Chris La Tray is a Métis storyteller, a descendent of the Pembina Band of the mighty Red River of the North and a citizen of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. His third book, Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home, was published by Milkweed Editions on August 20, 2024 and has received a number of accolades including a Pacific Northwest Book Award and a Writing the West Award, and Best Memoir of the Year selections from both People and Esquire magazines. His first book, One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays from the World at Large won the 2018 Montana Book Award and a 2019 High Plains Book Award. His book of haiku and haibun poetry, Descended from a Travel-worn Satchel, was published in 2021 by Foothills Publishing. Chris served as the 2025 Kittredge Distinguished Visiting Writer at the University of Montana and was awarded the 2025 Montana Heritage Keeper Award by the Montana Historical Society. Chris writes the weekly newsletter “An Irritable Métis” and lives near Frenchtown, Montana. He was the 11th Montana Poet Laureate, holding that post for 2023–2025.

Please note this event is hosted by the Montana Natural History Center, but is being held at The Native Plant Garden at Fort Missoula.

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