Western author K Follis Cheatham’s "Dog Days to Horse Culture" will be offered thhrough the Montana Committee for the Humanities through 2006.

Western author K Follis Cheatham’s "Dog Days to Horse Culture" will be offered thhrough the Montana Committee for the Humanities through 2006.

Montana Committee for the Humanities, a National Endowment of the Arts affiliate, has announced the programs for the updated Speakers Bureau. The selection process is held every three years and is open to Montana artists in over a dozen categories. K Follis Cheatham’s history presentation "Dog Days to Horse Culture" has been selected as one of the programs for the Montana and Western History category, and will be offered through 2006.

"I’m thrilled to be selected for the MCH Speakers Bureau," Cheatham says from her home outside of Helena, Montana. "I hope this will give me an opportunity to bring this unique history story to more people."

"Dog Days to Horse Culture" developed from Cheatham’s well-researched book SPOTTED FLOWER AND THE PONOKOMITA. The focus is on the American Indians of the Northern Plains who are most often described as part of the American Indian Horse Culture; yet their history is much older than that, extending centuries before the modern horse appeared on the Northern Plains. The cultures seen today reflect this antiquity that was subtly changed with the advent of the horse, but not invented by it.

"Since the second edition of the book came out [in 2000], I’ve presented the program in libraries and schools around the state. The response is quite good," Cheatham reports, "with adults as well as children curious and interested in a part of history they hadn’t known. I enjoy so much seeing people’s interest in this book, and now the presentation. I’ve always liked to make history fun for students." Cheatham has taught in several different alternative-education programs.

The book SPOTTED FLOWER AND THE PONOKOMITA is a middle-school reader that first came out in 1977. At that time, reviews and interest were high.

"This book is recommended for any child seeking to learn more about life among the early Montana Indians and makes a valuable contribution to the collection of children’s books dealing with Montana," wrote a reviewer for the Great Falls Tribune.
The Library Journal noted: "Accurate background information has been carefully integrated into a credible and consciously non-sexist piece of historical fiction."
About the second edition, Midwest Book Review wrote, "SPOTTED FLOWER AND THE PONOKOMITA would make a welcome addition to a classroom or home-schooling Native American studies curriculum supplemental reading list, as well as any school or community library collection."

Her lively lecture accepted by MCH includes accessory maps, photos and toy animals, complete with old equipment replicas, to help the audience visualize segments of Northern Plains life 250 years ago. "I tell a brief history of the horse, and describe many aspects of lifestyle of the old days," Cheatham says.

Through MCH, her program will be accessible to more people around Montana. The Speakers Bureau offers a subsidy program for smaller communities. This encourages them to bring in speakers they couldn’t otherwise afford. The printed catalogue is available to educational and community service organizations, and is also online.
"The catalogue includes information about scheduling the presentation and the artists’ biographical information," says. Mark A. Sherouse, MCH’s executive director.

"The people and presentations previously heralded by MCH are exciting and well-versed scholars. It’s an honor to be counted in their number." Cheatham says.

For more information about MCH, visit their web site at http://www.humanities-mt.org. Information about Cheatham’s presentation can be found online at http://www.kaios.com/karyn/dogdays.htm. Purchase of the book can be made within that site.

Contact information: K Cheatham, [email protected] , 406 458-0131
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