Missoula schools acknowledge Indigenous territory; Native American drum group performs honor song at Hellgate graduation

Micah Hill, superintendent of Missoula County Public Schools, opened part of Hellgate High School’s 2025 commencement by acknowledging the Indigenous peoples who are original stewards of the Missoula and Bitterroot valleys and introduced a student drum group to perform an honor song.

Hill said, “We acknowledge that we are gathered on indigenous territory. The Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys are the original homelands of the Salish, Onpondere, and Kalispel people who inhabited this land since time immemorial.” He added that other tribes, including the Kootenai, Blackfeet, Shoshone, Crow and Kiowa, also frequented the area and that descendants continue to live and work in the community.

Hill then introduced the Missoula County Public Schools Native American Student Services drum group, led by Shawn Whitegrass and Brittany Hunter, for what he described as the debut performance of a Native American honor song for graduates. The ceremony later included that performance and a public recognition of the district’s commitment to honoring Indigenous people and their presence in the community.

Hill also used his formal authority from the State of Montana and the Montana Office of Public Instruction later in the ceremony to present diplomas and to declare members of the Hellgate High School Class of 2025 as having fulfilled requirements for graduation.