Missoula project premieres 'Queer In and Out' film and Crossings exhibit documenting Montana transgender history

River, a researcher for the Queer In and Out Montana oral-history project, introduced a short film and the new Crossings exhibit at the Missoula Public Library, saying the project aims to preserve stories of Two-Spirit, trans and gender-diverse Montanans before they become unreachable.

The film’s narration stated, “There is no question that Two-Spirit, trans, and gender diverse people have always lived here,” a line played as part of the project’s recorded interviews. River told the audience the team conducted numerous multi-hour interviews—each roughly two hours—and that, together with a colleague, they had completed approximately 40 interviews across Phase 1 of the project. River said the project focused on people who had left the state as well as those still living in Montana and that phase 2 would cast a wider net, including family members, health-care providers, educators and local officials.

Project staff and some interviewees spoke in on-screen segments about the political climate and safety questions. One interviewee in the film said the state’s climate had made remaining in Montana “unsafe” for some, and several contributors described the emotional difficulty of deciding whether to leave a place they considered home. River said the film and the Crossings exhibit are intended to underscore the depth of queer Montana history and to reinforce claims of belonging for local queer communities.

Organizers announced that Crossings—an exhibit of photos and panels about two centuries of trans and Two-Spirit lives in Montana—was now on display in the library and that phase 2 of the Queer In and Out project will launch this fall with broader outreach. River invited interested community members to sign up after the event.