FORT BENTON — A mural is being painted on Benton Pharmacy in Fort Benton to honor the 1904 World's Fair Champion girls basketball team from the Fort Shaw Indian School.
The Fort Shaw girls team played an exhibition game on June 9, 1903, on the second floor inside Benton Pharmacy, which used to be an opera house that was transformed into a basketball court.
Justin Robicheau reports - watch the video here:
Ardis Cecil, a descendant of one of the players, said having the mural is a wonderful way of keeping the memory alive.
"The way things happened for the Fort Shaw team, with the school closing, six years after the Saint Louis World's Fair, there was no way, no mechanism for those girls to get back together and talk about and celebrate what happened in 1904. So now we're able today to have different events. And with that mural that's over at the pharmacy, that's going to keep that alive," said Cecil.
She continued, "Those girls were able to do that - overcome all of the problems with, one, women being in sports, because there really weren't any. Basketball opened the door for women to be in sports. And that was through Naismith and he invented that in 1891, 1892 so that is important."
Artist Rilie Zumbrennen of Billings has painted more than 100 murals, most of them in Montana, and was chosen to paint this piece. She said the community is taking notice of the work.
"It's been such a joy. People driving by and yelling how great it looks. Not just that, but how it's making the town look great. That makes me feel so happy," said Zumbrennan.
Zumbrennen said she is also spreading awareness about the history of the girls basketball team.
"A lot of times when I'm, like, eating at one of the restaurants here, I'm telling people the story and they didn't know. So it's really great that people are starting to know that story," said Zumbrennan.
A special event unveiling the mural is scheduled for June 9 at 9 a.m. at Benton Pharmacy in Fort Benton.
(JUNE 8, 2024) One hundred and twenty years ago, the Fort Shaw Indian School was the source of an incredible story.
The Fort Shaw girls basketball team made history when they traveled to St. Louis, Missouri for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World's Fair.
While at the fair, the ten members went undefeated in basketball exhibition matches, earning them the title of champions.
“In 2004, the monument was dedicated. It was the first time it appeared,” said Ardis Cecil, a decedent of Lizzy Wirth Smith, a woman associated with the 1904 team. “And then nothing has been done since then.”
Cecil worked with the Sun River Valley Historical Society and the Great Falls History Museum to bring the story of the 1904 women’s basketball team back to the spotlight.
The 120th anniversary event took place at the Fort Shaw Elementary School gymnasium, which was overflowing with people who wanted to learn more about the story.
Some of the attendees were descendants of the basketball players themselves. Cecil recognized the descendants with small gifts of painted rocks and chokecherry syrup.
“It was heartwarming, It was overwhelming,” Cecil said, “And I was just glad, I thought even for my family to come was enough for me. So to have this many people… it was pretty amazing.”
Linda Peavy, author of “Full-Court Quest: The Girls From Fort Shaw Indian School, Basketball Champions of the World,” was also in attendance, stressing the importance of keeping the story alive and doing our part to remember our past. Because the monument for the women’s team is not on a reservation, it is up to the people of Fort Shaw and the rest of Montana to remember the team’s story.
“I just so…appreciate this community since it's off the reservation that they've taken care of the story and they're here for us,” Cecil said.
You can learn more about the team and connect with descendants of team members by clicking here.
