Name: Land, Leadership, and Legacy: George Washington and Montana Identity (Billings, MT)
Start: 2026-08-07T09:00:00-0400
End: 2026-08-07T16:00:00-0400
Location: George Washington's Mount Vernon

Schedule

8:30 a.m.	Breakfast
9 a.m.	Welcome and Washington’s Leadership Shawnel Padilla and Lauren Hunley
9:30 a.m.	Workshop Sara Marie Massee
10:30 a.m.	Break
10:45 a.m.	Montana's Connection to Washington's Apples Aaron Kind
11:30 a.m.	Break
11:45 a.m.	Primary Source Activity Kathi Hoyt & Ruth Ferris
12:30 p.m.	Working Lunch and Book Discussions
1:15 p.m.	Depicting Identity/Indigenous Perspectives (Portrait Module) Vincent Goesahead (Jr)
2 p.m.	Break
2:15 p.m.	Primary Source Activity Kathi Hoyt & Ruth Ferris
3 p.m.	Mount Vernon Resources Shawnel Padilla
3:30 p.m.	Wrap Up & Questions
5 p.m.	Museum Evening Event at the Western Heritage Center

Registration Requirements

Who can register?

Teachers MUST teach in a formal K-12 classroom or school setting.
The workshop is limited to 30 teachers.
A waitlist will be available if registration meets full capacity.

Questions? Please contact [email protected]

Meet the Speakers

Sara Marie Massee

Dr. Massee has many years of experience in the field of living history. Her particular passions are interpreting the enslaved community and conducting 18th-century cooking, baking, and textile demonstrations, using a combination of research and hands-on experience to illuminate daily life.

She received her Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from George Mason University. She recently developed a walking tour titled "Washington the Farmer" about how George Washington’s innovative farming experiments at Mount Vernon transformed agriculture, revealed his forward-thinking leadership, and helped shape his vision for the future of the nation.

Expertise: Textile Production at Mount Vernon, Historic Cooking Techniques and Food Traditions, and Foodways of the Enslaved

Aaron Kind

Aaron Kind is the Park Manager at Chief Plenty Coups State Park. He has been the ranger there since 2013 and held positions before that with the US Forest Service, the BLM, and the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium.

Aaron has his degree in Anthropology, is an experienced interpreter and teacher, and has done much to enhance the educational programs at the park. Aaron is originally from Centerville, MT, and enjoys spending time with his family, fly fishing, and rooting for the Bobcats.

Vincent Goesahead (Jr)

Vincent Goesahead (Jr) is an Apsaalooke elder and culture keeper of the Mountain Crow. As a former Vice-Chairman of the Crow tribe and a descendent of Chief Plenty Coups, Vincent holds the honor of being able to share the numerous stories and histories passed down from his fathers and grandfathers. His insight grounds historic Apsaalooke experience and identity within contemporary Montana understandings.

Meet the Educator

Shawnel Padilla

Shawnel Padilla is Mi’gmaq First Nations. She’s a former classroom teacher turned school librarian in Alaska. Shawnel earned a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in History and an M.A. in Education from the University of Alaska.

She earned a library certification from Montana State University with a primary focus on Indigenous Perspectives in School Librarianship. Shawnel completed her fellowship in 2023 through the War in Washington’s World Fellowship and is a teacher facilitator for the George Washington Teacher Institute.

She is a curriculum creator and consultant specializing in elementary social studies curriculum and Indigenous perspectives. In her free time, she travels across the United States, exploring museums and historical sites and hiking with family and friends.