The Queer In and Out of Montana Oral History Project seeks to document the lives of LGBTIQ2S+ Montanans living both inside and outside of the state. University of Montana faculty, students, and alumni from across campus collaborated with community members and local organizations to launch this project in 2024. At its inception, the project aimed to capture the perspectives and experiences of LGBTIQ+ people leaving Montana, or contemplating doing so, in response to the state’s increasingly hostile political climate. In 2025 the project expanded to include the life stories of Two-Spirit and LGBTIQ+ persons who have called Montana home at any point during their lives.
-
Bree Sutherland Interview, February 1, 2025
Bree Sutherland
Bree Sutherland (she/they) discusses her choice as a transgender electrician in Missoula, Montana to move to Portland, Oregon with her wife Charlotte Macorn, in search of a more queer-friendly environment. Sutherland describes her experiences in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality classes at the University of Montana, ... Read More
-
Charlotte Macorn Interview, January 21, 2025
Charlotte Macom Bromley
Charlotte Macorn (they/she) moved to Hillsboro, Oregon, in 2024 with their wife, Bree Sutherland, after living in Montana for 40 years. They studied Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) and African American Studies at the University of Montana. After earning their degrees, Charlotte returned to ... Read More
-
Cosmo Roots Interview, January 29, 2025
Cosmo Roots
Cosmo Roots (he/him) grew up in Bozeman, Montana, but moved to Eugene, Oregon, for a fresh start. As a trans man he finds that Eugene allows him to exist more comfortably as himself than Montana. Roots discusses his experiences with hormone replacement therapy, the evolution ... Read More
-
Donna Bulatowicz Interview, February 7, 2025
Donna Bulatowicz
Donna Bulatowicz (she/her) currently lives in Maryland after spending her first 19 years in Billings, Montana, then moving to Oklahoma, California, Pennsylvania, back to Montana, and eventually, Maryland. Bulatowicz compares the culture of Billings from her childhood to present day, noting that Billings used to ... Read More
-
Eros Moore Interview, February 12, 2025
Eros Moore
Eros Moore (they/them) discusses their journey coming to identify as nonbinary and demisexual as well as the ways in which their identity has shaped their decisions. Eros describes how their identity has changed over time, reflecting on their personal experience and growth growing up in ... Read More
-
Johnny Barber Interview, January 28, 2025
Johnny Barber
Johnny Barber (they/them) begins by addressing some key aspects of their identity such as being queer, being a partner, and a soon-to-be parent. They describe how their upbringing in a religious family living in Miles City, Montana, greatly influenced their coming out experience. They describe ... Read More
-
Julie Williams Interview, February 25, 2025
Julie Williams
Julie Williams discusses growing up in rural Livingston, Montana, as a queer person and how the lack of support has impacted her adult life. Williams describes how such experiences led to her moving away for college to explore different communities, which ultimately helped her accept ... Read More
-
Lonnie Johnson and Ronald Fournier Interview, February 26, 2025
Lonnie Johnson and Ronald Fournier
Couple Lonnie Johnson and Ronald Fournier detail their lives in different cities around Montana, including Columbia Falls, Helena, Butte, and Hamilton. The couple take turns explaining their origins, highlighting they have been a couple for over thirty years. They describe living comfortably in Montana when ... Read More
-
Parker Mickel Interview, February 3, 2025
Parker Mickel
Parker Mickel (they/them) describes their gender identity as nonbinary and sexual orientation as queer/demisexual. As a military brat, their childhood involved living in multiple places and moving frequently. They describe opening their eyes to politics and how queer communities are established and how they evolve. ... Read More
-
Richard Schade Interview, February 7, 2025
Richard Schade
Ricky Schade (he/him) describes himself as a cis white dude, and a queer person. He discusses his decision to leave Montana and move to Portland, Oregon, with his partner and their child, Clem. As a child, Ricky moved around a lot within Montana. He was ... Read More
-
Shaunagh McGoldrick-Barber Interview, February 2, 2025
Shaunagh McGoldrick-Barber
Shaunagh Mary (she/her) is the mother of a trans child and spouse to a trans partner. She discusses her experiences moving from New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Montana and how that’s impacted her own understanding of her identity. Shaunagh briefly joined AmeriCorps, earned a Master’s of ... Read More
-
Stacey Haugland Interview, March 5, 2025
Stacey Haugland
Stacey Lynne Haugland, born in 1965, moved to Cut Bank, Montana, as a child then moved to Great Falls, Montana. After graduating high school, they attended Carleton College in Minnesota. Stacey discusses the difference in acceptance of queer people then versus now and how the ... Read More
-
Stacy Varkuza Interview, March 4, 2025
Stacy Varkuza
Stacy Varkuza identifies as a queer non-binary person. They are from Phoenix, Arizona, but moved to Missoula, Montana, in 2007. Currently they live in Portland, Oregon, with their partner and nonbinary child. Stacy discusses their experiences living in Missoula as an openly queer person and ... Read More