Free summer Programs: From Atlatls to Arrows: Early Peoples Hunting Strategies
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Step into the stories of the past and explore the beauty of the present at the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center near Williston throughout June. Weekly events offer engaging, family-friendly ways to experience the confluence of cultures, rivers, and time. Registration is not required for these free programs, and children must be accompanied by an adult.
From Atlatls to Arrows: Early Peoples Hunting Strategies
Wednesdays & Fridays, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. and 3-4 p.m.
Learn how the region’s earliest hunters crafted and used tools made from stone, wood, and sinew at this interactive drop-in session. Test your aim with ancient weapons including the atlatl—a spear-throwing tool—and the traditional bow and arrow.
Throwback Thursdays: Frontier & Indigenous Games at the Confluence
Thursdays, 2 p.m.
Discover the joy of historical play in this weekly drop-in program featuring a rotating lineup of games once played by Indigenous communities and frontier families. From hoop-and-dart and double ball to croquet, marbles, and classic parlor card games, this is hands-on fun for all ages.
Where Rivers Meet: A Walk Through History & Nature
Saturdays, 10 a.m.
This 60-minute guided walk explores the post-glacial landscape of the confluence, highlighting native plants, wildlife, and river ecology while connecting those natural features to human stories, especially Indigenous use of the land, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and the development of nearby Fort Buford.
Confluence Learning Lab: Early Peoples & Hunting Tools
Friday, June 28, 2 p.m.
Dive deeper into the lifeways of early Indigenous peoples. Explore the handmade tools hunters developed to adapt to their environment, then use atlatls and bows in a supervised, educational setting. It’s an enriching blend of history, science, and fun.
Reel History at the Confluence: “Ice Age” Movie & Fossil Fun
Saturday, June 29, 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Cool off with a screening of the hit animated movie “Ice Age,” then stick around for a hands-on fossil experience! After the film, chat with staff about the real ice age and get up close with fossils from that chilly chapter of Earth’s history.
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Questions
- Local: (701) 572-9034