The Montana Feminist History Project was a collaborative project designed to collect and interpret the history of the second wave of feminism in Montana. These interviews, recorded between 2001 and 2004, describe a broad range of women's and families' lives in Montana, including politics, birth, family aid, family violence, law, and feminism from multiple perspectives. The interviewees discuss women’s access to health care, reproductive rights, domestic violence, and activism within the gay and lesbian community in Montana. The original interviews are held as Oral History collection OH 378 at Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula.
This collection includes 48 interviews.
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Karen Cornelius Fenton Interview, May 9, 2001
Karen Cornelius Fenton
Karen Cornelius Fenton talks about her Native American heritage and her education. She describes working as an educator and domestic violence prevention advocate as well as her crime prevention advocacy work within the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. She explains family violence within the framework ... Read More
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Kate Kahan Interview, April 18, 2002
Kate Kahan
Kate Kahan discusses her midwife experiences and describes how they empowered her as a woman and led her to attend college. She talks about her leadership roles in the Women’s Center at the University of Montana. Kahan explains the evolution of and controversy surrounding the ... Read More
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Kelly Slattery-Robinson Interview, April 4, 2002
Kelly Slattery-Robinson
Kelly Slattery-Robinson explains how she started working at the YWCA in Missoula, Montana, and the organization’s accomplishments. She discusses broader issues including feminism, violence against women, and poverty.
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Kelly Slattery-Robinson Interview, March 10, 2001
Kelly Slattery-Robinson
Kelly Slattery-Robinson provides personal background information as well as her definition of feminism. She describes her involvement with the YWCA including Missoula, Montana community reactions to the shelter, staff procedures, and organization of the shelter. Slattery-Robinson discusses her affiliation with the Women’s Place, WORD [Women’s ... Read More
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Linda Smith Interview, July 19, 2001
Linda Smith
Linda Smith describes her childhood and education, her experiences in the Peace Corps and her introduction to feminist and underground publications. She explains her initial interest in printing, working first for an alternative press in Texas, and then establishing Mountain Moving Press in Missoula, Montana. ... Read More
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Linda Smith Interview, March 19, 2002
Linda Smith
Linda Smith describes serving in the Peace Corps and her introduction to feminist and underground publications. She explains her initial interest in printing, working first for an alternative press in Texas and then establishing Mountain Moving Press in Missoula, Montana. Smith discusses her involvement in ... Read More
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Louise Cross Interview, March 8, 2001
Louise Cross
Louise Cross describes her role as a member of the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention. She talks about working as a social and political activist in Glendive, Montana for many years which included her affiliation with organizations such as the American Association of University Women [AAUW].
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Mae Nan Ellingson Interview, July 12, 2002
Mae Nan Ellingson
Mae Nan Ellingson describes what brought her to Montana and the University of Montana in 1967. She talks about her experience as an environmental activist with GASP [Gals Against Smog and Pollution] and as a women’s rights activist. Ellingson discusses serving as the youngest of ... Read More
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Martha Newell Interview, April 6, 2002
Martha Newell
Martha Newell describes her involvement with the Montana Pro-Choice Coalition, the Women’s Resource Center, and Blue Mountain Clinic. She briefly discusses her views on abortion.
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Mary Stranahan Interview, December 23, 2004
Mary Stranahan
Mary Stranahan describes her history of activism and philanthropy in Montana from the late 1970s until the early 2000s. She recalls her involvement in LGBTQI causes, feminist causes, and Montana non-profits. Stranahan talks at length about the process of obtaining funding for non-profit organizations from ... Read More
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Maxine Johnson Interview, September 17, 2001
Maxine Johnson
Maxine Johnson describes her involvement and those of other feminist activist in the effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in Montana. She also talks about her activities with the AAUW [American Association of University Women].
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Michele Neal Interview, March 13, 2002
Michele Neal
Michele Neal discusses her training and 24 years of experience as a home birth midwife in Missoula, Montana. She emphasizes the importance of viewing pregnancy and birth as healthy natural processes rather than illnesses or events requiring medical intervention. Neal recalls some of the highs ... Read More
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Molly "Sandanho" Danison Interview, April 1, 2002
Molly "Sandanho" Danison
Molly "Sandanho" Danison talks about her decision to become a midwife and her midwifery training at The Maternity Center in El Paso, Texas. She relates her experiences as a midwife in Missoula, Montana, detailing her relationships with both mothers and doctors. Danison weighs the pros ... Read More
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Nancy Munro Interview, April 29, 2002
Nancy Munro
Nancy Munro describes her initial contact with early childhood education and the events that led to her work as the nutritionist/dietician with the 1965 pilot Headstart Program in Montana. She explains the challenges of getting the program running and how it functioned as well as ... Read More
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Pat Regan Interview, August 28, 2002
Pat Regan
Pat Regan describes her family background of political activism and her early role models. She recalls deciding to run for the Montana State Legislature and her political campaign. Regan discusses her experiences in the Montana State House including the introduction of equal rights legislation. She ... Read More
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Raquel Castellanos Miller Interview, June 27, 2002
Raquel Castellanos Miller
Raquel Castellanos Miller describes her background as a feminist and social activist in Missoula, Montana. She explains her work at WORD [Women’s Opportunity and Resource Development] and her collaboration with Toni McOmber. Miller discusses the beginning of the WEEL program [Working for Equality and Economic ... Read More
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Roger Barber and Mary Van Buskirk Interview, September 28, 2002
Roger Barber and Mary Van Buskirk
Roger Barber and Mary Van Buskirk recall their involvement in the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention. They describe the significance of including women delegates in the convention. Van Buskirk discusses how her mother served as a convention delegate from Havre, Montana, as well as her mother’s ... Read More
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Sally Mullen Interview, November 28, 2002
Sally Mullen
Sally Mullen describes her family background, her experience as a founding member of the Blue Mountain Clinic in Missoula, and her three stints as executive director of that organization. Mullen relates her experiences with staffing the clinic, social views of abortion, anti-choice protesters, the fire-bombing ... Read More
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Tootie Welker Interview, May 28, 2001
Tootie Welker
Tootie Welker describes her childhood and her education. She talks about her definition of feminism and how she started working with organizations that focus on preventing violence against women. Welker discusses her work in this field on a local level in Sanders County, Montana, as ... Read More
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Virginia Egli Interview, August 27, 2002
Virginia Egli
Virginia Egli describes her involvement with the AAUW [American Association of University Women]. She talks about her career as a schoolteacher in Glendive, Montana, and her education at University of Montana-Missoula. Egli discusses how suffering from a major stroke and her subsequent recovery inspired her ... Read More
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Virginia "Lee" Niebuhr Interview, June 9, 2003
Lee Niebuhr
Virginia Niebuhr describes the strong women in her life who influenced her as a feminist. She details her involvement with the Business and Professional Women’s Organization and the Montana Women’s Capital Fund. Niebuhr recalls her participation in the YWCA in Great Falls, Montana, including her ... Read More
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Vivian Brooke Interview, June 12, 2002
Vivian Brooke
Vivian Brooke describes her experiences in the Montana League of Women Voters. She talks about serving as a Montana State legislator during the 1990s and her focus on women’s rights and women’s working conditions. Brooke also describes the different feminist issues in the legislature by ... Read More
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Willa Craig Interview, April 3, 2002
Willa Craig
Willa Craig summarizes her background and explains how she started working in the women's health care field in Missoula, Montana, first at Planned Parenthood as a birth control counselor and then at Blue Mountain Clinic. Craig explains her stance as a pro choice advocate and ... Read More