National Monuments in Montana

The Antiquities Act, enacted in 1906, is one of our nation’s most important conservation tools. Used to safeguard and preserve federal lands and cultural and historical sites for all Americans to enjoy, 17 presidents from both political parties, including most recently President Trump, have designated 158 national monuments under this authority.

In Montana, we’ve been lucky enough to have some of our most iconic and culturally important shared public lands protected in perpetuity as national monuments for generations to enjoy.

• Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, designated in 1946.
• Pompeys Pillar National Monument, designated in 2001.
• Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, designated in 2001.

Montana’s three monuments show what kinds of special experiences you can have on these public lands. From walking important historical and cultural ground to hunting, fishing, and canoeing, there is plenty to explore. Check out our Visitor’s Guide to Montana’s National Monuments to plan a trip.

2022 UM Voter Survey on Public Lands Poll: Antiquities Act (Q26): Presidents of both parties, including most recently President Trump, have used the ability to protect existing public lands as national monuments in order to maintain public access and protect the land and wildlife for future generations. Knowing that – Do you support or oppose Presidents continuing to use their ability to protect existing public lands as national monuments?
Total support: 78%

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EVENTS

Honoring our National Monuments… through Art

Over 2022, MCV hosted several Pint Nights to highlight some of our incredible public lands – national monuments. And Montanans love their public lands. According to a recent poll, nearly 80 percent of Montanans support a president’s power to protect existing public lands as national monuments. Montana is home to three national monuments: Pompeys Pillar, Upper Missouri River Breaks and the Little Bighorn Battlefield.  

We kicked off our monument appreciation tour in Billings with a landscape painting of Pompeys Pillar. The monument stands nearly 200 feet above the Yellowstone River and is home to numerous Native American petroglyphs. The Pint Night’s live painting was done by Billings artist Terri Porta who’s painted and been featured in galleries all over the world. Her portfolio extends beyond painting to contemporary sculpting working in metal, wood, ceramics and any other material readily available. 

Our second monument painting featured the Upper Missouri River Breaks which covers 149 miles of the River in central Montana where you can float, hike, hunt and fish. Our Missoula-based artist, Stella Nall, used her piece to challenge stereotypes about indigenous art. Her painted landscape was positioned in the belly of an imaginary animal with three legs. Stella is a multimedia artist and poet from Bozeman and a First Descendant of the Apsáalooke Tribe. Her work has been featured all over Montana and you can see her latest piece, a bison mural in Butte.

And finally, during our Annual Gala in October, we featured our final monument, the Little Bighorn Battlefield. This monument memorializes one of the most famous battles in U.S. and Native American history, where General Custer lost his life in attempting to gain military control over the Lakota and Cheyenne tribes who refused to live within the boundaries of the Great Sioux Reservation. Livingston artist Kay Potter did the final live-art piece during the Gala. All three pieces were given away to three lucky attendees at the Gala.

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