Billings Preservation Society/Moss Mansion Museum–Artifact Storage

The Native American people and their culture interested Preston Boyd and Martha (Mattie) Woodson Moss. Artifacts in the Moss Mansion were traded by local American Indians in exchange for items of need or curiosity. The collection includes beaded moccasins, an antelope-hide Crow warrior shirt, hand-crafted grass baskets, purses and children’s dolls.

The Moss Mansion’s Native American Artifacts project used MHF funds to preserve American Indian heritage by creating new displays and preservation space for these items. The displays were designed to present important, traditional aspects of American Indian culture to the public by enriching people’s understanding and awareness of cultural traditions and practices. The heritage and history of Montana’s American Indian tribes is vital to the education and intellectual growth of the Billings community.