150th Anniversary of the Little Bighorn Film Festival to be held at Art House in June

This June is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and you can expect events all summer all over the Montana plains.

One of those is the 150th Anniversary of the Little Bighorn Film Festival, which will be held at Art House in downtown Billings on June 25-27. The three day event is hosted by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, Native American Development Corporation, Sky Bear Media, Contender Independent LLC and Windrose Fund.

The festival centers on the Allied Tribes — the Cheyenne, Lakota and Arapaho — who victoriously defended their lives, homelands and ways of life at the battle, with what the Cheyenne call Tsęhe'ęsta'éhe Tséhvonanęse (pronounced TSISTAH-AYE TSIF-WOOH-NATS), meaning "Where Long Hair Was Wiped Out," and the Lakota call Pje’Sla Wakapa, or "Battle of the Greasy Grass."

It'll showcase films and highlights presentations about the Cheyenne and Allied Tribes, including other Native films and stories, some that have Montana connections.

Some notable actors will be posthumously honored for their lifetime of work and tribal history related to the battle will be shared.

"The 150th anniversary is an important opportunity to commemorate the resilience and survival of the Allied Tribes, as well as to showcase some great shorts, narrative films and important documentary features," said festival co-organizer Russell Brooks. "We have a number of local Montana people that have connections to some of these films."

The festival kicks off with an opening night celebration and red carpet memorial event at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, at the Northern Hotel ballroom, following the battlefield activities earlier the same day.

Films are scheduled through Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27, at Art House. The event is designed to be accessible and welcoming to everyone.

For more information, email rbrooks@contenderindependent.com.