Bigger Sky Kids Inc

Wolf Point, Montana, sits on the remote Fort Peck Reservation, home to the Assiniboine and Sioux nations. Bigger Sky Kids seeks to ensure that Wolf Point children in grades four through eight have regular, reliable access to after-school activities that evoke their creativity and curiosity. We make it possible for our children to interact with others in a safe, relaxed, well-provisioned environment and in the company of responsible adults. We hope to broaden their horizons through arts education. We look to help our kids acquire skills that will inspire and serve them for a lifetime.

1. Engage local people who know the population and have experience working in the community. Listen to what they have to say.

2. Reach out to parents, community organizations and local businesses. Ensure they know who we are, what we are doing, and what we hope to achieve. Ask for their help.

3. Scour nearby towns for artistic talent not available within the community—piano teachers, potters, weavers, and others. Find ways to bring them into our program.

4. Try to engage artists and volunteers for the long term to ensure as much consistency and constancy for our children as possible.

5. Pay attention to kids’ responses and needs and adapt programs accordingly.

6. Identify children who would benefit, but have not enrolled. Work to include them. Be prepared to spend quality time with them.

7. Secure up-to-date equipment and top-notch supplies so that the kids’ experience is as productive and positive as it can possibly be.

8. Maintain an adequate level of donation income and grant funding so that we don’t fail these kids.

9. Stay focused on our mission. Try not to get distracted. Try not to take on too much. But aim high.

Bigger Sky Kids represents a collaboration by organizers with diverse skill sets. From the very beginning, we envisioned two distinct but complementary portfolios—one to build and then maintain the box; the other to fill it.

Program Director Barbara Olson has assembled a dedicated team of local volunteers (generally about fifteen adults representing a wide variety of skills). They plan activities and run the program, look after community outreach and social networking, and assist our part-time Program Coordinator with logistics.

Char Matejovsky, the President of the Board, leads a volunteer team of former colleagues and other professionals who take responsibility for accounting, fundraising, grant writing, hiring, and reporting, thus leaving Wolf Point staff and volunteers free to do what they do best, without the burden of paperwork that comes with it.

Bigger Sky Kids partners with the local Lutheran church to provide an outstanding venue for program activities. This large, secure space comprises a central auditorium where students can move seamlessly from one activity to another, an alcove for reading and games, a commercial kitchen, and several classrooms for courses in art, music, dance, and computers.

Since we launched Bigger Sky Kids in March 2018, we have

• been awarded grants from the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation, Margaret T. Biddle Foundation of the Montana Community Foundation, Montana Arts Council, Montana-Dakota Utilities, Roosevelt County Community Foundation, Western Bank of Wolf Point Legacy Fund, and Wolf Point Community Organization

• received donations from local churches and businesses

• brought in a working artist to teach visual arts, including painting with oils

• staged annual art exhibits in local venues such as the Roosevelt County Library and Doc'Z gallery

• exhibited kids’ paintings at the Roosevelt County Fair, where they've all won ribbons

• added classes in Native American traditional dance

• acquired musical instruments and computer equipment—laptops, digital pianos, guitars, ukuleles, and the like—enough to meet current demand

• performed dance routines and musical pieces at the Wolf Point variety show and in school programs

• served more meals, many prepared and served by Bigger Sky kids, than we can count

• secured funding to bring our visual artist back for a multiple-year residency

• initiated a track for art students who transition into high school to continue as mentors

In 2022–23, seventy kids enrolled in our program

What’s next?

• Expand the range of art classes and acquire relevant equipment as we identify new teachers and find funds to engage them

• Add more Native American art projects, such as making and playing hand drums

• Help kids participate in regional programs, such as the Performing Arts Camp at the Summer Theater in Fort Peck, Montana

• Engage local Native American artists willing to not only to teach but to talk to our kids about their journeys