​PAST EXHIBITS 2025:

May 1- June 26: Toll of War

The Civil War exerted an intense toll on all Americans both physically and emotionally. Discover how soldiers and citizens both black and white dealt with the harsh realities of war during and after the conflict.

Many of FPK’s soldiers and officers had fought in the Civil War, and came here immediately after.

Loaning Institution: National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Frederick, Maryland.​

May 1- June 26: When the War is Over

As thousands of war-torn and wounded men marched home at the end of the Civil War, government programs sprang up to care for veterans and their families. Learn more about these programs, their successes, and their failures.

As veterans of the Civil War, many of FPK’s soldiers and officers were eligible for these programs.

Loaning Institution: National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Frederick, Maryland

May 1- July 31: Sioux Ledger Drawings

Thirty-six color drawings reproduced from a ledger book obtained from the Lakota Sioux in 1891 make up this traveling exhibit. Subjects include war episodes, horse captures, and the Ghost Dance. This exhibit was produced by the Milwaukee Public Library and the Wyoming State Museum.

The Lakota have an associated history with FPK, and while these particular drawings may not relate directly to the fort, ledger drawings like these were about conflicts with the Bozeman Trail Forts.

Loaning Institution: Wyoming State Museum, Cheyenne, Wyoming​

June 27-August 31: Hell on Wheels: Union Pacific Railroad Towns in Wyoming

The construction of the Transcontinental Railroad was an engineering marvel. Covering nearly two-thirds of the country, its completion resulted in quicker and cheaper transportation and accelerated the westward expansion of the United States. In Wyoming, and elsewhere along the construction line, end of track towns developed. End of track towns were known for vigilantism, riots, and crime, earning the towns the name “Hell on Wheels.”

Many historians think the Bozeman Trail Forts were a distraction to keep American Indians busy in the northern part of Wyoming while the Transcontinental Railroad was being built in the Southern part of the state. This is what was happening concurrently during Fort Phil Kearny’s existence.

Loaning Institution: American Heritage Center, Laramie, Wyoming​

 Aug 1- Sept 14: Coming Home: The Northern Cheyenne Odyssey

The exhibit focuses on the stories of two Northern Cheyenne bands, one led by Chief Dull Knife and the other led by Chief Little Wolf, from 1876 to the present. While there are many tribal leaders and stories within the Northern Cheyenne history, this exhibit focuses on events leading to the Fort Robinson Breakout, its aftermath, the struggle of these bands to return to Montana and the establishment of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in southeastern Montana in 1884.

The Northern Cheyenne have an associate history with FPK, as do some of the people highlighted in the exhibit, like Little Wolf.

The exhibit was researched, organized, and designed from a Northern Cheyenne perspective, and created by Northern Cheyenne historians, artists, and tribal members.

Loaning Institution: Western Heritage Center, Billings, Montana

Aug 1- Sept 14: Parading Through History

This exhibit is a chronological journey that leads the visitor through the history and culture of the Crow tribe. With the onset of federally mandated Indian reservations, Crow leaders had the insight to merge the knowledge of recently educated young adults with the traditional wisdom and heritage of the elders, thereby successfully retaining their tribal structures and culture. This traveling exhibit allows new audiences to experience the culture and history of the Apsáalooke nation from the perspective of tribal members.

The Crow/Apsáalooke people have a long history in this area, both before and after FPK’s existence. This is one of the few exhibits ever researched, organized, and designed from an Apsáalooke perspective.

Loaning Institution: Western Heritage Center, Billings, Montana

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Sept 15- Oct 31: Through the Lens: Richard Throssel

A Métis Washington native, Richard Throssel 1st moved to the Crow Reservation as a clerk for the Indian Service. While there, he was inspired by the vibrant and unique culture of the Apsáalooke people. For a brief time, he studied under Joseph Henry Sharp during Sharp’s time on the Reservation, and then was later involved with the 1905 & 1909 Edward Curtis expeditions for The North American Indian. These experiences impressed upon him the beauty of color, shape, and story in sharing native lives while stirring the possibilities of photography as cultural documentation. He later opened his own photography studio in Billings.

Throssel worked with the photographer Edward Curtis, a photographer known for taking photographs of American Indians.

Curtis photographed Red Cloud in 1905. The image was reproduced on a magic lantern slide and projected at a Carnegie Hall lecture by Curtis in 1911.

The original magic lantern slide of Red Cloud was purchased by Robert and Judith Winquist, who generously had a giclee canvas image made from the photo and donated it to the Fort Phil Kearny/ Bozeman Trail Association. This image of Red Cloud can now be seen on exhibit at Fort Phil Kearny.

Throssel also studied under Joseph Henry Sharp, who was known for his work painting the Crow and their lives.

 Joseph Henry Sharp was known for his work painting the Crow and their lives. Trail End has a giclee copy of one of his paintings that the John Kendrick family bought in 1915, and the Brinton has the original (entitled “Remembering Past Deeds”).

Loaning Institution: Western Heritage Center, Billings, Montana