Helena-based author and University of Notre Dame professor Mark Johnson returns to the Northwest Montana History Museum Jan. 29 on the Chinese New Year to present Keeping Chinese Culture Alive on the Montana Frontier. 

“From the earliest days of non-Native settlement of Montana, Chinese pioneers played a key role in the region’s development. Navigating life in this new land, Montana’s Chinese residents gained comfort through the continuation of their spiritual and cultural practices,” Johnson said in in a press release. 

Johnson grew up in Great Falls and lived in Shanghai, where he assembled a transnational team to translate hundreds of primary documents that detail the lives of Chinese Montanans from the 1880s onward. That research became the basis for his book, “The Middle Kingdom Under the Big Sky.” Johnson’s research uncovered the lives and stories of many people who came to the West and significantly contributed to Montana’s development. At one point, Chinese residents accounted for more than a tenth of the state’s population. 

The last time Johnson presented at the museum in April 2023, he spoke about the Chinese experience in Montana; toured Demersville Cemetery; and reviewed materials from the museum archives. His findings on Flathead Valley resident, Mar You, became part of a talk he delivered at the Montana History Conference in Helena in 2023. 

The presentation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the museum, 124 2nd Ave. E., Kalispell. Admission is free. His book will be available for purchase and signing.  

For more information about Johnson and his book visit www.bigskychinese.com. For more information about the museum, visit nwmthistory.org or call 756-8381.
 

    Helena-based author and University of Notre Dame professor Mark Johnson returns to the Northwest Montana History Museum Jan. 29 to present Keeping Chinese Culture Alive on the Montana Frontier. (Courtesy image)