Wikipedia:Meetup/MSU/HowMTwasMade
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Pop culture depictions of the Big Sky State can be biased and based on outdated stereotypes. The best way to combat this is by improving access to reliable information on modern Montana. This March, Join the MSU Library and its partners in our 3rd annual Wikipedia Edit-a-thon "How Montana was Made." We will have speakers from campus and the community share their wisdom on the innovations, events, and people that have made our state what it is today, and Wikimedians will be on site to empower participants to improve resource availability by editing Wikipedia with topical updates. New to Wikipedia editing? We will walk you through signing up and making your first edits. Already an experienced editor? We will have suggested pages that can use your expertise. We hope to see you March 3rd at the MSU Library (in person or virtually) to help us tackle the topic of "How Montana was Made"
| Join the Montana State University Library and its partners for the 3rd Annual MSU Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: How Montana was Made at Montana State University Library! |
|---|
 When: Tuesday, March 3rd 2026 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time) Where: Montana State University Library Bozeman, MT and online! Suggested Focus: All things related to how Montana came to be what it is today What to bring: Your preferred editing device (personal computer, tablet) and necessary charging cables. Parking: https://www.montana.edu/parking/ Sponsors: MSU Library, MSU Access and Success, Dean of Students, The College of Agriculture, College of Arts and Architecture, Gianforte School of Computing, Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, Student Commons, and Women's Center. |
Event Schedule
All sessions will take place in the Research Alliance (MSU Library Third Floor) and there will be snacks provided throughout the day.
10:00 am Welcome, and Student Speaker Session
2 MSU Students will each present on topics relating to How Montana was Made. After the presentations there will be a short Q&A between attendees and the speakers.
Emelia Wood is a an MSU Senior History major who is also pursuing minors in Museum Studies and Women's, Gender, and Sexual Studies. She will be talking about one of our state's female dude ranch owners.
Ryan Reece is an MSU Junior History major. He will be presenting some history of unions and labor movements in Montana.
10:40-11:05 am Speaker: Brenda Wahler
Brenda Wahler is an MSU alumna whose book Marcus Daly’s Montana Empires is being released Tuesday March 3rd! She is a fourth-generation Montanan who has studied cantankerous characters from conmen to countesses as she digs into the deeper stories behind the myths of the American West. A former history and government teacher, she is now an attorney in her day job as well as an independent historian, freelance writer, and lifelong horsewoman. As a public speaker, she brings a dynamic and engaging style honed by years spent in the classroom and courtroom.
11:05-12:15 Wiki Basics
Are you new to editing Wikipedia? Jamie Flood (Scholarly Communication Librarian, Butler University) will introduce users to topics like setting up a user account, adding citations to articles, making edits and using the wealth of tools and resources available to editors. Following the instruction there will be time to edit articles as a community. See our to-do list below for ideas of articles to edit!
12:15-1:15 pm Speaker: Mary Murphy
Mary Murphy is a Professor Emerita of History at MSU. She taught the history of women in America, the history of the American West, and the history of food. She has written extensively on the history of women in Montana and, along with three partners, is currently working on a book exploring the culinary history of Montana. She will present on the role of women in shaping/making Montana communities through their voluntary associations, which took on creating community libraries and parks, maintaining cemeteries, lobbying for food safety, and working for racial justice.
1:45-2:45 pm Speaker: Nina Sanders
Nina Sanders (Apsáalooke/Piikani) is a curator and writer whose work bridges Indigenous knowledge systems with contemporary museum practices. Her career centers on emphasizing Indigenous sovereignty, reciprocity, and the power of culture within tribal and institutional frameworks.
2:45-4:00pm Editing time
Come edit as a community! Jamie Flood (Scholarly Communication Librarian, Butler University) and other experienced Wikipedia editors will be on hand to assist editors. See our to-do list below for ideas of articles to edit!
RSVP
To do
Here are a few suggested articles to create or improve during this edit-a-thon, but you are welcome to work on anything you like.
Please note: This is a crowdsourced list. You can help us by adding to it! If you are familiar with editing Wikipedia, you can add your suggestions to the tables below. If you are unfamiliar with editing you can add your suggestions by filling out our Suggestion Form.
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Wiki Project Montana | This page is managed by a group dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of articles related to the U.S. State of Montana. They maintain a list of articles about Montana. Users can also choose to join this group if they plan to regularly edit on topics related to Montana. |
| MSU Archives and Special Collections, | The Montana State University Archives and Special Collectoins (ASC) has many digital collections and finding aids that can be used for research |
| Index of Montana-related articles | Wikipedia list page |
| List of People from Montana | Use this list for inspiration (look for names in red) and add any missing names |
| Category:Montana geography stubs | This is a list of articles for places in Montana that have very little information on them. |
| Story of Us: The women who shaped Montana | PBS/Extreme History production about women who shaped Montana History. They also have additional educational resources on PBS Learning Media |
| Topic | Some Sources | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bozeman Street Railway | Right now this is a redirect to the Bozeman Station, but more information is needed on the Bozeman Street Railway or trolly system in Bozeman. | |
| List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States | Use this list of federally recognized tribes to seek out tribes that need improved pages. | |
| Lumber industry in Montana | there isn't one cohesive page on the lumber industry, it could be represented as a new page "Lumber in Montana" or as a sub section of the Montana page, or otherwise represented on geographic areas impacted by the industry. | |
| Immigrants in Montana | Chinese Immigrants in Montana, Book: Middle Kingdom Under the Big Sky, Montana Historical Society: Chinese Experience in Montana | Many groups of immigrants to the United States have shaped the history of the state. A suggestion would be to add sections to the Montana page for specific groups of immigrants who have impacted the state. For example: Irish Immigrants, Polish Immigrants, Chinese immigrants, etc. If information available on a particular group is expansive, an editor may choose to create a dedicated page to the history of that group. Also check out the linked resources and see if there are people or organizations that should be represented with their own articles. |
| Sweet Pea Festival (Bozeman, MT) | Bozeman Magazine article 2014, Museum of the Rockies article |
| Topic | Some Sources | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Montana Territory | ||
| Topic | Some Sources | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land Preservation in Montana | There are a number of Land Preservation Groups in the state that are probably notable enough to deserve their own article. At the same time there is no one article that talks about how the land preservation movement has shaped the state. I have not provided a "Red Link" because I am not sure which title would best address this topic. Pomemel (talk) | ||
| CSKT Bison Range | [1], [2], | ||
| Flathead Lake Biological Station | See the "Talk" page for a robust list of information to be added. There may also be more photos on Commons that could improve the page | ||
| SKQ Dam | |||
| Warm Springs, Montana and the Montana State Hospital | [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] | This page is very thin! lots of opportunity to expand on the story of the psychiatric hospital there | |
| Montana Forts and military Installations | There are a lot of links in red here. including Camp Rimini, which the Archives has records on (Camp Rimini oral Histories. Additional Camp Rimini resources: [1], [2], [Rimini, Montana]) | ||
| List of Montana State Parks | Official Montana State Parks Website, Visit Montana article on State Parks, Montana State Parks Foundation | The Marias River State Park does not have a page yet, and other pages may need additional information, or updates. | |
| Honors College (Montana State University) | Added by participant request. Keep in mind conflict of interest while improving information on this page. | ||
| 320 Guest Ranch | Bozeman Magazine article, Explore Big Sky article |
| Topic | Some Sources | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| List page: Montana Pioneers | People on this page have Wikipedia articles that include the category "Montana Pioneers." The category is is dedicated to people who "have been members of the Society of Montana Pioneers" if there are any people who are missing from the category, please add the category tag to their Wikipedia page. | |
| Susan Haughian | [1] | Cowboy Hall of fame member |
| Mary Ronan (settler) | [1], [2] | A pioneer woman who lived in multiple gold rush towns throughout the American west, including Virginia City and Helena. Was married to Peter Ronan, who was a BIA agent for the Flathead Indian Reservation for 16 years. Lake Mary Ronan and its accompanying state park was named after her. The book Girl from the Gulches: the Story of Mary Ronan is a memoir based on the chronicle of her life the way she told it to her daughter Margaret. |
| Lucille Smith Thompson | [1], [2] | Co-author of The Negro in Montana, Reference Librarian and Head of Reference at MSU Library |
| Donna Grace Spainhower | [Obituary], [Remembrance from Bud Lilly Papers] | Helped form the West Yellowstone Historical Society, and was the West Yellowstone (Montana) Postmaster from 1978-1988 |
| Marsha F. Small | [1], [2] | Has done significant work on boarding school graves |
| Sarah Vowell | Sarah Vowell is an author and an MSU alum. | |
| Sarah Bickford | Montana PBS Story of Us, 2, 3 | Article could use some more information and references |
| Maggie Smith Hathaway | Montana PBS Story of Us, 2, | Article could use some more information and references |
| Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail | Montana PBS Story of Us, 2, 3 | Article could use some more information and references |
| Emma Ingalls | 1, 2, 3 | Journalist, legislator, and farmer |
| Topic | Some Sources | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Constitution of Montana | [1] | |
| Missing supreme court justices | Drafts for missing supreme court justices | |
| Topic | Some Sources | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Topic | Some Sources | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake | ||
| Winter of 1886–87 in the United States and other major blizzards or cold winters (check for page before creating one) | [1] | This page is kind of a rough draft, but this winter had major impacts on Montana. |
| Topic | Some Sources | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Keepers Inc. | [1], [2], [3], [4] | organization could use its own page. References to the company exist on the SKQ Dam and Flathead Lake pages. |
| Montana Women's Prison | Check out the "Talk" page for some suggested improvements | |