Montana’s $107 Million Museum Has A New Room Most Visitors Never Expected

The Surprisingly Small Room In Montana's $107 Million Heritage Center

Last December, Montana opened a massive $107 million museum, but in my opinion, it's one of the smallest rooms that may have the biggest impact on visitors.

The Montana Heritage Center in Helena features a small room specifically designed for a traditional Indigenous practice called "smudging."

Montana Heritage Center Designed A Room Specifically for Smudging

If you're not familiar with "smudging," it involves burning materials such as sage, cedar, pine, or sweetgrass as part of a cleansing, blessing, or ceremonial practice. For many Indigenous people, this is an important cultural and spiritual tradition.

However, doing this inside a modern museum isn't exactly simple.

Thankfully, the Heritage Center's designers built the room specifically to accommodate smudging. Inside, you'll find a high ceiling and a powerful ventilation system designed to safely handle the smoke according to Smithsonian Magazine.

In the past, these ceremonies would have to be held outside or would sometimes require the building's fire-suppression system to be temporarily shut down.

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Major Robinson Wanted Indigenous Culture Built Into Montana's Heritage Center

Major Robinson, a Northern Cheyenne architect from Lame Deer who worked as a cultural design liaison on the project, is a big reason this room even exists.

Robinson says he pushed for the space because he wanted Indigenous culture to be part of how the museum itself functions, not just something to be viewed behind display glass.

You can see that idea throughout the Heritage Center, with Indigenous design influences incorporated right into the building itself.

Sometimes even the smallest room tells you the most about the thought that went into a place.