Merlin CCC

Reeder's Alley Summer Series (RASS)
2025-07-15 17:00 - 20:00, 2025-07-08 17:00 - 20:00, 2025-07-01 17:00 - 20:00 (America/Denver) | Reeder’s Alley, 200 S. Park Avenue, Helena, MT, 59601, United States
Kick-Back & Enjoy Community!
Join us for the 2nd Season of our Reeder’s Alley Summer Series! Nestled in the grounds of historic Reeder’s Alley, this fun, grassroots-inspired Summer series hosted by community philosophy non-profit Merlin CCC features live local music, tasty eats, a beer & wine garden, historic Pioneer Cabin tours, living history, games & more.
Dog-friendly and laid-back, this community-oriented event invites you to take in the charm of the alley & history of Helena in only the way that Reeder’s Alley can offer! Bring a picnic blanket or your favorite low-riding lawn chair & grab a spot in Caretaker’s Lawn. Roam the alley, share stories, play games, eat food, sip brews or wine, and take in the tunes. What better way to celebrate Tuesday nights in Helena this coming Summer?!
Check out the 2025 Music & Activities Schedule Here!

Philosophy Workshop: Improving Civil Dialogue...One Conversation at a Time
2025-07-13 09:30 - 11:30 | Reeder’s Alley (Conference Center & Grotto), 101 Reeder's Alley, Helena, Montana, 59601, United States
What We’ll Explore

Explore new ways to spark meaningful dialogue and cultivate civic trust in this interactive 2-hour community philosophy workshop. Through a combination of reflective exercises and conversation using the Teach Different Method, the workshop invites participants to consider challenges they’ve encountered to civil discourse and offers creative ways for exploring controversial topics constructively. If you are an educator, community leader, or anyone seeking to promote civic engagement and tackle challenging topics with empathy and clarity, this workshop is for you. The workshop will be led by guest scholar Dan Fouts & co-facilitated by Merlin CCC community philosophers Marisa Diaz-Waian & Mitch Conway.
When
Sunday, July 13th from 9:30am-11:30am

Where
Reeder’s Alley (Conference Center & Grotto)

RSVP

Let us know your coming. RSVP here!

Cost
FREE (Donations Appreciated)

Workshop Leader & Conversation Facilitator
Dan Fouts has taught high school social studies since 1993 in the Chicago suburbs. He holds degrees in philosophy and political science from Bradley University and a MS in education from Northwestern University. As co-founder of Teach Different, he promotes a neuroscience-backed conversation method fostering critical thinking, empathy, and civil dialogue. Dan serves on PLATO’s academic advisory board and has collaborated with the APA to bring philosophy into K-12 classrooms.

Conversation Co-Facilitators: Mitch Conway & Marisa Diaz-Waian

Make a Donation HereOur philosophy activities are FREE to the community. While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Donations help to cover activity leader honorariums, implementation, and resource archiving, and more! If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution you can do so by clicking here. For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.

Community SponsorThank you to our community sponsor Doubletree by Hilton Helena Downtown.

Philosophy Think & Drink
2025-07-10 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-06-12 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-04-10 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-02-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-11-14 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-10-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Reeder’s Alley Conference Center, 101 Reeder's Alley, Helena, MT, 59601, United States
Fun Gatherings that Stimulate the Mind!
Our Philosophy Think & Drinks are casual, community-oriented gatherings that are intellectually stimulating and fun. You don’t need a background in philosophy to enjoy & participate. An open mind & desire to engage in thoughtful dialogue (whether from a listening or contribution standpoint) is all that’s needed! For those who love philosophy but prefer not to partake in the libations side of things, don’t let that stop you from participating in the fun. We emphasize the think over the drink!
When
2nd Thursday of every month from 7pm-9pm
Where
Reeder’s Alley — If the weather is conducive, we meet outdoors in the pavilion. If it’s cantankerous, we meet indoors in the Conference Center.
Other
Light snacks provided. BYOB.

How Do They Work?
Step into the dojo! Our Think & Drinks are monthly gatherings that consist of a “meeting of minds” over libations. After nabbing goodies and seats, getting acquainted & settling in…the eve begins.

No topics are off-limit; no questions are too broad, narrow, abstract, or concrete. Questions are posed by participants in a “round-robin” fashion, clarified, and then voted upon collectively.
Once our “avenue of philosophical pursuit” is in place, we’re ready to dive into a fun night of facilitated philosophical discussion.

Philosophy Symposium: On Policy, Philosophy & the Environment
2025-06-16 17:30 - 20:00 | Lewis & Clark Library (Large Community Room), 120 S. Last Chance Gulch, Helena, Montana, 59601, United States
What We’ll Explore
In this mini-symposium facilitated by community philosopher Marisa Diaz-Waian we’ll talk with guest panelists and authors involved with the book A Watershed Moment: The American West in the Age of Limits about policy, philosophy, and the environment. Topics explored will range from environmental justice and conservation policy (Evelyn Brister) to market solutions for conservation on private lands (Travis Brammer). The symposium will be structured in a way that allows ample time for community Q & A.
More Context for Our Discussion

All guests panelists are authors featured in A Watershed Moment , which features a collection of essays reflecting on the American West that reveal tensions between a culture of economic growth and personal freedom and the ecological, economic, and social constraints set by community values and the land itself. As Westerners and their communities come up against these limits, the volume editors highlight issues of sustainability endemic to the region and to the nation as a whole.
The volume presents practical approaches to land use, land management, and community planning that are motivated by philosophical views on justice, quality of life, and sustainability in the American West. The contributors are policymakers, government employees, land and water managers, urban planners, biologists, tribal members, writers, and academics from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. The result is a compelling vision of place-based, policy-oriented sustainability across the West.

When
Monday, June 16th from 6pm-8pm (Plus book signing from 5:30pm-6pm*)
Where
Lewis & Clark Library (in the Large Community Room)
RSVP
RSVP here! (While you are welcome to attend without RSVP’ing, your RSVP helps us get an idea of how many people to anticipate so we can prepare accordingly)
Cost
FREE (Donations appreciated)
Other
*Books will be available for purchase from the authors. Book signing from 5:30pm-6pm. See also our companion Philosophy Walk on Sunday, June 15th event w/ guest scholar Evelyn Brister.
Guest Scholars
Evelyn Brister is a Professor of Philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology and a faculty affiliate in Public Policy and Environmental Science. Her research examines ethical and political issues in land management and conservation science. She is the editor, with Robert Frodeman, of A Guide to Field Philosophy (Routledge, 2020), a collection of essays examining collaborations between philosophers and policymakers, and she has written over two dozen articles in philosophy and environmental science. She spends as much time as she can in and around Yellowstone. In her new book, A Watershed Moment: The American West in the Age of Limits, she and other authors present practical approaches to addressing ecological, economic, and cultural issues that are motivated by philosophical views on justice, quality of life, and sustainability.

Travis Brammer is the Director of Conservation at The Property and Environmental Research Center (PERC), overseeing its Conservation Innovation Lab and all field projects. Raised as a seventh-generation family cattle rancher in Colorado with professional expertise in western conservation issues, Travis is passionate about the intersection of conservation and agriculture. He began his career at the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust rising to become the group’s Interim Conservation Director. He later graduated with honors from the University of Wyoming College of Law and most recently served as a Conservation Fellow at the Ruckelshaus Institute and MacMillan Private Lands Stewardship Program. Travis’ thesis was on the creation of a western rangeland conservation fund to help the next generation of farmers and ranchers access land and engage in conservation. As Director, Travis will establish partnerships around the country, creating and implementing innovative market solutions to some of the nation’s most significant natural resource challenges.
Make a Donation Here
Our philosophy activities are FREE to the community. While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Donations help to cover activity leader honorariums, implementation, and resource archiving, and more! If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution you can do so by clicking here. For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.

Community Sponsors & PartnersThank you to our community sponsors & partners Doubletree by Hilton Downtown Helena and the Lewis & Clark Library.

Philosophy Walk: Conservation & the Environment Through a Big Picture Lens
2025-06-15 09:00 - 12:00 | Prickly Pear Park, 1525 RTE 518, East Helena, Montana, 59635, United States
What We’ll Explore
In this walk led by philosopher Evelyn Brister we’ll explore environmental science and conservation through a philosophical lens, incorporating considerations about justice, quality of life, and sustainability along the way. Some specific foci we’ll be exploring within this broad context include: outdoor recreation, bio-tech, and ethical decision-making. Our walk will be held at the newly established Prickly Pear Park in East Helena. EXCITING!!!

“I love working with communities on environmental issues, and I love working with scientists on conservation research and practice. Something I do as a philosopher and educator is to explore how to balance differing viewpoints and priorities, while also addressing ethical questions that tend to get lost in the mix. Philosophers play lots of roles, and one is helping people step back from their immediate projects to look at the bigger picture. When we’re talking about environmental conservation, the big picture is especially important because decisions affect a lot of different people, as well as non-humans, and they continue to have an impact through time. I work with ecologists and conservation scientists on research related to wetland restoration and coral reef restoration—that work is often about how to let various ethical priorities guide research and practice. In my new book, A Watershed Moment: The American West in the Age of Limits, the authors present practical approaches to addressing ecological, economic, and cultural issues that are motivated by philosophical views on justice, quality of life, and sustainability.” — Evelyn Brister, Professor of Philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology & Faculty Affiliate in Public Policy and Environmental Policy.

When
Sunday, June 15th from 9am-12pm
Where
Prickly Pear Park (1525 RTE 518, East Helena) – Just south of HWY 287
RSVP
RSVP here!
Cost
FREE (Donations appreciated)
Other
Wear weather appropriate attire & comfortable shoes. See also our companion Philosophy Symposium event on Monday, June 16th w/ guest scholars Evelyn Brister and Travis Brammer.

Walk Leader
Evelyn Brister is a Professor of Philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology and a faculty affiliate in Public Policy and Environmental Science. Her research examines ethical and political issues in land management and conservation science. She is the editor, with Robert Frodeman, of A Guide to Field Philosophy (Routledge, 2020), a collection of essays examining collaborations between philosophers and policymakers, and she has written over two dozen articles in philosophy and environmental science. She spends as much time as she can in and around Yellowstone. In her new book, A Watershed Moment: The American West in the Age of Limits, she and other authors present practical approaches to addressing ecological, economic, and cultural issues that are motivated by philosophical views on justice, quality of life, and sustainability.
Make a Donation Here
Our philosophy activities are FREE to the community. While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Donations help to cover activity leader honorariums, implementation, and resource archiving, and more! If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution you can do so by clicking here. For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.

Community Sponsors & PartnersThank you to our community sponsors & partners Doubletree by Hilton Downtown Helena and the Lewis & Clark Library.

Gold Rush Days 2025
2025-05-08 16:00 - 2025-05-10 22:00 | MT
Gold Rush Days celebrates Helena’s rich gold mining history, showcasing the diverse cultural influences brought together during the gold rush era through reenactments, historic demonstrations, and storytelling. With activities designed for all ages, the event is family-friendly, offering something for history buffs, kids, and families alike. The event fosters community engagement and supports local businesses, while preserving and educating visitors about the city’s unique historical and cultural legacy.

Building on the success of Gold Rush Days in 2023 and 2024, this year’s festival will celebrate: (1) the history of Helena in engaging, interactive, and community-building ways, (2) the history and beauty of Last Chance Gulch (and all of the businesses and people that bring such vitality to it), and (3) the unique role of Reeder’s Alley in our community & sense of place it offers, historically (as Helena’s oldest intact piece of early Helena and hub for cosmopolitan thinking/activities) and today (as a place of community, living history, and joy).

The festival will offer activities in the downtown and Reeder’s Alley area for people of all ages including gold & sapphire panning, Pioneer Cabin Living History & Tours, historic walking tours, live music & beer gardens, quick draw art auctions, Montana history movies, Stories from our Elders, Pioneer music, Can Can Dancers, hands-on craft activities & games for kids, a gold nugget hunt, and more!!!

We are THRILLED to be on the organizing committee with some great peeps once again for this year’s Gold Rush Days. Last year was a hit, and this year, we plan to elevate it even more! And to help with this & make things even more exciting, our organization was awarded a $25k economic impact and destination event grant from the Department of Commerce so that we, along with others, can really give it wings!

Check out the event scheduleWe’re working with several other event organizers to finalize a run of events for the festival and will be updating the event website with that information as soon as its available. For more information about Gold Rush Days, click on the button below. Gold Rush Days Event Website

Greater Helena Gives 2025
2025-04-30 20:00 - 2025-05-01 20:00
WHAT IS GREATER HELENA GIVES?
Hosted by the Helena Area Community Foundation, Greater Helena Gives is a 24-hour online fundraiser that raises money for non-profits across Helena. We love participating in this event and have set this year’s fundraising goal at $3,500, which will be put toward for our Summer & Fall programming.
When: Wednesday, April 30th – Thursday, May 1st (8pm-8pm)
How to give: Yes, I want to support critical, creative thinking in our community by making a donation to Merlin here!
Give by check: Make out to ‘Merlin CCC’, write ‘Greater Helena Gives’ in the memo line, and mail to 119 Reeder’s Alley, Helena MT 59601

WHY GIVE TO MERLIN?
Imagine a world where thoughtful dialogue & community co-exist. Where differing perspectives break bread. Where understanding, truth, and wisdom is a goal. Imagine you live in that world, that city, that neighborhood, that community.
Be part of that vision. Invest in that community. Support philosophy.
A lot goes into putting on programs in the community. In addition to the public-facing side of things, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that has to get done in order for a program to take flight. That’s where you come in! Your contributions on Greater Helena Gives will help to support our Summer & Fall philosophy in the community programming, critical, creative thinking, the exchange of ideas, and the application of philosophy to everyday living. Our programs are free to the community and are opportunities for people of all backgrounds and ages — from children to elders — to gather, to learn from and with one another, and to uniquely cultivate their personal and civic selves.

WHY PHILOSOPHY IS IMPORTANT & wHAT YOU’RE HELPING TO SUPPORT

Philosophy is the backbone of civil discourse & the heartbeat of a critical, creative & thinking community.

By supporting our organization, you are contributing to the well-being & enrichment of Helena by providing opportunities for community members to strengthen their analytic & creative thinking skills, cultivate robust strategies for thinking about and navigating the complexities & nuances of life, foster empathy & compassion, nurture and encourage wonder & curiosity, and build community inspired by an appreciation for and love of place.

How Did We Get Here?: Miracles
2025-04-22 18:30 - 20:00 | Reeder’s Alley Conference & Community Center, 101 Reeder's Alley, Helena, Montana, 59601, United States
What We’ll Explore

In 1748, the Scottish philosopher David Hume defined a miracle as “a violation of the laws of nature,” and quickly went on to suggest that, at least in modern times, such things could never happen. Hume’s account arguably remains a commonplace today, taken for granted to such a degree that it may come as a surprise that someone (living so recently) even needed to say it!

In classical times, by contrast, the Latin root miraculum was used for things which excited wonder or amazement, but without any mention of laws of nature, much less of violating such laws. Most notably, the ancient Romans refereed to the Septem Miracula, or the “Seven Wonders” of the world. Amazing as such wonders are, they’re still very much within the realm of possibility. After all, a well-to-do Roman could take a grand tour, visiting the Great Pyramid, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and all the rest, not to mention smaller, more local “miracles.”
What had to change — in our understanding of nature, of natural laws, and of causes and explanations — in order for Hume’s definition of miracles to seem self-evident, and even to become thinkable at all? What new concepts had to arise? And even more importantly, what older understandings, what traditional ways of seeing ourselves and the world, had to be lost, forgotten, or suppressed?
In this evening’s program, we’ll begin in the 18th century with Hume’s definition, and work our way backwards in time, to survey some of the major changes and developments that allowed Hume’s statement to seem so obvious. And we’ll reflect on some ways in which the older, half-forgotten ways of seeing might still contain helpful possibilities for us today.
When
Tuesday, April 22nd from 6:30pm-8pm
Where
Reeder’s Alley Conference Center
RSVP
Sign up here!
Cost
FREE (Donations appreciated)
Other
Hot tea & lights snacks provided. BYOB.
Event Facilitator
David Nowakowski is a philosopher and educator in the Helena area whose professional work is dedicated to helping people of all ages and backgrounds access, understand, and apply the traditions of ancient philosophy to their own lives. David began studying ancient philosophies and classical languages in 2001 and has continued ever since. A scholar of the philosophical traditions of the ancient Mediterranean (Greece, Rome, and North Africa) and of the Indian subcontinent, reading Sanskrit, Latin, and classical Greek, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University in 2014. His work has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals, including Philosophy East & West, Asian Philosophy, and the Journal of Indian Philosophy, as well as in presentations to academic audiences at Harvard, Columbia University, the University of Toronto, Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and elsewhere.
After half a decade teaching at liberal arts colleges in the northeast, David chose to leave the academy in order to focus his energies on the transformative value of these ancient philosophical and spiritual traditions in his own life and practice, and on building new systems of education and community learning that will make this rich heritage alive and available to others.
A hermit by nature and by committed choice, he balances contemplative solitude with his active work in teaching, counseling, and the healing arts. David can be reached at david@merlinccc.org or via his personal website.
Make a Donation Here
Our philosophy activities are FREE to the community. While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Donations help to cover activity leader honorariums, implementation, and resource archiving, and more! If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution you can do so by clicking here. For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.

Philosophy On Broadway 2025
2025-04-07 16:00 - 22:00 | On Broadway, 106 E. Broadway St., Helena, Montana, 59601, United States
A fun Night w/ Friends

Live music, good food & wine, good convo & company…sounds like a community symposium to us! And what a fun way to celebrate and support philosophical thinking in Helena?! Please join us for our fundraiser eve at On Broadway. Live music, a silent auction & a touch of theater. Head to On Broadway. Enjoy some apps, a meal & some drinks…and On Broadway will donate 50% of sales from your night of merriment to our organization! How cool is that?!

Make a Night out of it!Treat yourself to appetizers & dinnerSip on some fantastic bevies!Listen to live musicEnjoy great conversation with friendsHave fun & support a great cause!On BroadwayMonday, April 7th (4pm-10pm)50% of food & beverage sales donated to Merlin“Please join us in celebrating community!”Marisa Diaz-Waian, Director of Merlin

Live Music in the Lounge by The Unpredictables

“The Unpredictables” is made up of the husband and wife musical duo Jeremy and Adelle Terry. In keeping with the band’s name, you never know quite what to expect other than sheer awesomeness! Their repertoire spans multiple genres including folk, rock, blues, country, reggae, jazz and Celtic while playing a variety of instruments.

Silent Auction

Last year we had a great spread of items for our silent auction. And 2025 will be even better! Here’s how it works. We’ll have a table with prizes set up next to the band. Bid on what moves you. Win yourself some sweet auction prizes (to keep or give to others as gifts!). It’s that simple. And a fun way to show some extra love for Merlin.

Door Prizes

It wouldn’t be a symposium without togas! (We’ll be wearing them. You don’t have to!). HOWEVER, for all of you who want to join the fun…door prizes will be given to every person who shows up in a toga (or something toga-like) to dine!!

Why Give to Merlin?
Imagine a world where thoughtful dialogue & community co-exist. Where differing perspectives break bread. Where understanding, truth, and wisdom is a goal. Imagine you live in that world, that city, that neighborhood, that community.
Be part of that vision. Invest in that community. Support philosophy.
All donations made and winning bids on our silent auction, as well as 50% of your food and beverages during our Philosophy on Broadway fundraiser night, will go toward our Spring & Summer philosophy in the community programming, critical, creative thinking, the exchange of ideas, and the application of philosophy to everyday living. Our programs are free to the community and are opportunities for people of all backgrounds and ages — from children to elders — to gather, to learn from and with one another, and to uniquely cultivate their personal and civic selves.

How to giveCOME TO ON BROADWAY ON MONDAY, APRIL 7TH4pm-10pm. Enjoy some apps, a meal & some bevies. Bid on silent auction items. Listen to live music. Enjoy great food & great people. Have fun! On Broadway will be donating 50% of food and beverage sales to Merlin!DONATE ON-LINEMake a tax-deductible donation!Become a sustaining donor!GIVE BY CHECKYour tax-deductible donation can be made out to ‘Merlin CCC’. Please write ‘On Broadway Night 2025’ in the memo line and mail to 119 Reeder’s Alley, Helena MT 59601 or bring it with you to On Broadway on April 7th!“See you at On Broadway for the festivities!”Marisa Diaz-Waian, Director of Merlin

Reading & Discussion Series: Plato's Phaedrus
2025-03-25 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-03-11 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-02-25 18:30 - 20:00 | Reeder’s Alley Conference Center, 101 Reeder's Alley, Helena, MT, 59601, United States
What We’ll Explore

The Phaedrus is arguably the most beautiful of Plato’s dialogues. This comes as no surprise, since the subject of the dialogue is Beauty in all its varieties, at every level of the cosmos: from the nymph-haunted grove in which Socrates and Phaedrus have their conversation, to the beauty of human bodies (young Phaedrus was exceptionally handsome!), to the beauty of speech and discourse (both mythic and scientific), to the beauty proper to human souls (their knowledge and virtues), to the intelligible and divine beauty at the summit of all these.

In the course of this wide-ranging inquiry into beauty, many other specific themes and questions arise, notably:

The issue of madness, insanity, or mania. Is madness — being outside our proper human rationality — always something that makes us in some way “less than fully human” in our behavior, or can some kinds of madness actually be elevating, helping us to live and act in ways that exceed our proper human nature, and share in a divine life?
Speech and writing. What necessary roles to orality (spoken speech) and memory have? How does the process of writing contribute to, or detract from, our capacities for learning and discourse?
And of course, love. No treatment of beauty could possibly be complete without considering the activity of love, which draws us toward to what we perceive to be beautiful. How can love for another person, if done well, make an essential contribution to our flourishing in this life and beyond — as Socrates puts it, to the unfolding of the wings of the soul, and her taking flight?

While each session will be self-contained (such that you can attend a stand-alone session and still benefit), participating in as many sessions as possible will allow more time to make and experience larger connections between readings, ideas, and questions explored.
FREE & open to the public. Donations appreciated.
When
Every Other Tuesday (3 sessions total)
February 25th - March 25th, 2025
6:30pm - 8pm

Where
Reeder's Alley Conference Center (101 Reeder's Alley)

RSVP
Sign up here! (Seats limited)

CostFREE (Donations appreciated for series facilitation). $10 for the series book.Book InformationWe'll be using a new paperback edition of Plato's dialogue, published by the Prometheus Trust in January 2025. Books are available for our group at a special discounted price of $10 each, payable by cash or check (to Merlin CCC). If that would be a barrier to participating, we also have a small number of copies that have been provided by an anonymous donor, that will be available at no cost. If you need one of these, just reach out and let us know, no questions asked.How/where to get your copy of the bookYou have two ways to pick-up your book before our first series session!(1) Books will be available in the Visit Helena office located at the bottom of Reeder's Alley starting the 1st of February. Ask Jazlyn (at the front desk) for a copy.(2) You can also e-mail our workshop facilitator at david@merlinccc.org to make arrangements.
Sessions Reading Structure

While it’s certainly helpful to bear in mind the entire arc of the dialogue, we’ll focus our conversation on roughly one-third of the text (about 20 pages of Plato) in each session. (A detailed pdf of the reading plan can be viewed and downloaded below). Some of the main themes for each evening’s discussion will include:
WEEK 1 (February 25th)

The setting, characters, and theme of the dialogue as a whole.
The first two speeches concerning love, each of which suggest that it might be better to gratify someone who does not love us, rather than someone who does, on account of the madness that love entails. Though Socrates will ultimately go on to recant much of this, these speeches nonetheless point to some things which are true, even if incomplete.

WEEK 2 (March 11th)

Divinely-inspired love, and the divine madness that places us above the merely rational. As preparation for this, we get Plato’s most definitive and complete argument of the immortality of the soul: a single paragraph that we’ll spend a good deal of our time working to unpack and interpret together.
We’ll also follow Socrates and Phaedrus in their magnificent vision of our souls circling the heavens, following the Gods in viewing the intelligible forms of Beauty, Justice, and the like.

WEEK 3 (March 25th)

Now, we’re descending back down from the sweeping vision of the third speech on love. This will include some examination of the beauty of souls, of discourse, and of the grove itself, thus uniting the end back to the beginning. Here too, we find Socrates’ famous (or infamous) critique of writing which, far from being an “all or nothing” type of argument, can offer us as starting point for classifying the purposes and appropriate methods of different types of discourse.

Reading & Discussion Plan (View & Download PDF)

Series Reading Material InformationIn order to keep our group literally on the same page, we'll be using a new paperback edition of Plato's dialogue, published by the Prometheus Trust in January 2025. This includes a translation of the Phaedrus (which we'll be reading all of, divided across our three sessions), plus six introductory essays by Tim Addey and our workshop facilitator, David Nowakowski, that will offer some additional context and guidance to those interested in deepening their study (not required for our sessions, but they will be recommended as supplements at various points). In addition to providing those essays, if we're all working from the same edition, it will make it easy for us to read sections of the dialogue aloud together during our evening sessions, with everyone working from the same translation and the same page numbers, so we can easily find our place and stay together.Preparation for SeriesIt's important that everyone in our group get a copy of the book in advance of the first session, so we can read at least the first sections of the dialogue prior to that session and be ready to discuss them with the group.

Series Facilitator

David Nowakowski is a philosopher and educator in the Helena area whose professional work is dedicated to helping people of all ages and backgrounds access, understand, and apply the traditions of ancient philosophy to their own lives. David began studying ancient philosophies and classical languages in 2001, and has continued ever since. A scholar of the philosophical traditions of the ancient Mediterranean (Greece, Rome, and North Africa) and of the Indian subcontinent, reading Sanskrit, Latin, and classical Greek, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University in 2014. His work has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals, including Philosophy East & West, Asian Philosophy, and the Journal of Indian Philosophy, as well as in presentations to academic audiences at Harvard, Columbia University, the University of Toronto, Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and elsewhere.

After half a decade teaching at liberal arts colleges in the northeast, David chose to leave the academy in order to focus his energies on the transformative value of these ancient philosophical and spiritual traditions in his own life and practice, and on building new systems of education and community learning that will make this rich heritage alive and available to others.

A hermit by nature and by committed choice, he balances contemplative solitude with his active work in teaching, counseling, and the healing arts. David can be reached at david@merlinccc.org or via his personal website.

Make a Donation Here

Our philosophy activities are FREE to the community. While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Donations help to cover activity leader honorariums, implementation, and resource archiving, and more! If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution you can do so by clicking here. For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.

Philosophy Workshop: What is Virtue? (More than just ethics!)
2025-01-23 18:30 - 20:30 | Reeder’s Alley Conference Center, 101 Reeder's Alley, Helena, MT, 59601, United States
What We’ll Explore

The notion of virtue holds a central place in classical theories of what it means to live a good life. Indeed, the Greek term for virtue, aretē, simply means “excellence,” and who would seriously want to say, “No, my life would be good enough — or even better — without being excellent”?
The classical philosophers of Greece mentioned quite a few different virtues, or excellences, for human beings — some of which applied to all humans, while others were relative to specific occupations or circumstances (for instance, the virtues of an excellent doctor or an excellent carpenter, which people outside those professions might not need or care about). Among the virtues common to all human beings, four core excellences traditionally stood out: wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation.

In this evening’s program, we’ll reflect on “virtue” in general, and these four cardinal virtues in particular, within traditional philosophies of human life. And we’ll examine how these virtues can extend well beyond the narrow domain of ethics, to encompass a much wider scope of our human aspirations and relationships. Taking a cue from Damascius (6th century CE), the last head of the Platonic Academy in Athens, we’ll consider no less than seven different levels on which the virtues of wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation can manifest in a well-lived human life — only one of which is the “ethical.”
Given the wide scope of the evening’s topic, we will certainly not arrive at a full account of all the details. But if we do our work well, we should begin to see the general shape of things: an outline which we can explore further and work to fill in through subsequent reading, study, and contemplation. Our goal for the night will be to articulate this general vision, as something potentially worthwhile and inspiring, something worth doing the work to explore, fill in, and embody.
We’ll use some short extracts from the writings of Damascius and other ancient thinkers to frame and organize our conversation, opening up a space in which we can meaningfully and deeply explore an approach to virtue that’s much more expansive than what we often encounter in contemporary life.
When
Thursday, January 23rd from 6:30pm-8:30pm
Where
Reeder’s Alley Conference Center (101 Reeder’s Alley, Helena MT 59601)
RSVP
Sign up here!
Cost
FREE (Donations appreciated)
Discussion Leader
David Nowakowski is a philosopher and educator in the Helena area whose professional work is dedicated to helping people of all ages and backgrounds access, understand, and apply the traditions of ancient philosophy to their own lives. David began studying ancient philosophies and classical languages in 2001 and has continued ever since. A scholar of the philosophical traditions of the ancient Mediterranean (Greece, Rome, and North Africa) and of the Indian subcontinent, reading Sanskrit, Latin, and classical Greek, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University in 2014. His work has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals, including Philosophy East & West, Asian Philosophy, and the Journal of Indian Philosophy, as well as in presentations to academic audiences at Harvard, Columbia University, the University of Toronto, Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and elsewhere.
After half a decade teaching at liberal arts colleges in the northeast, David chose to leave the academy in order to focus his energies on the transformative value of these ancient philosophical and spiritual traditions in his own life and practice, and on building new systems of education and community learning that will make this rich heritage alive and available to others.
A hermit by nature and by committed choice, he balances contemplative solitude with his active work in teaching, counseling, and the healing arts. David can be reached at david@merlinccc.org or via his personal website.

Make a Donation Here
Our philosophy activities are FREE to the community. While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Donations help to cover activity leader honorariums, implementation, and resource archiving, and more! If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution you can do so by clicking here. For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.

Philosophy Think & Drink (with a Twist!)
2025-01-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Reeder’s Alley Conference Center, 101 Reeder's Alley, Helena, MT, 59601, United States
Special Celebration in January
This month’s Think & Drink will have a special twist to it. Namely — we’ll be celebrating a fellow philosopher (Mitch Conway!) and communing even more than usual! Think of it is a little “gathering of the minds” party aimed at wishing our friend safe travels…a fond farewell…and “well miss you for now and can’t wait to see you again this Summer!”
Shhhh….Because we’re banking on Mitch not seeing this event page and FB — he’s notorious for not checking them (hehe) — please keep this a secret. It’s a little surprise going away party disguised as our normal monthly Think & Drinks — for our pal!
Fun Gatherings that Stimulate the Mind!
Our Philosophy Think & Drinks are casual, community-oriented gatherings that are intellectually stimulating and fun. You don’t need a background in philosophy to enjoy & participate. An open mind & desire to engage in thoughtful dialogue (whether from a listening or contribution standpoint) is all that’s needed! For those who love philosophy but prefer not to partake in the libations side of things, don’t let that stop you from participating in the fun. We emphasize the think over the drink!
When
Thursday, Jan 9th. Drop in anytime from 7pm-8:30pm to join the celebration and wish our pal farewell.
Where
Reeder’s Alley — If the weather is conducive, we meet outdoors in the pavilion. If it’s cantankerous, we meet indoors in the Conference Center.
Other
Light snacks provided. BYOB & a snack you might want to share!.

How Do They Work?
Step into the dojo! Our Think & Drinks are monthly gatherings that consist of a “meeting of minds” over libations. After nabbing goodies and seats, getting acquainted & settling in…the eve begins.

No topics are off-limit; no questions are too broad, narrow, abstract, or concrete. Questions are posed by participants in a “round-robin” fashion, clarified, and then voted upon collectively.
Once our “avenue of philosophical pursuit” is in place, we’re ready to dive into a fun night of facilitated philosophical discussion.

Philosophy Think & Drink - Cancelled
2024-12-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Reeder’s Alley Conference Center, 101 Reeder's Alley, Helena, MT, 59601, United States
**Well, it seems to be that time of year. Due to both of our facilitators — Marisa & Mitch — being sick, we are cancelling this month’s Think & Drink. ‘Tis the season for sharing and caring, but not when it comes to colds. To make up for this month’s cancellation, we’ll be firing back up our T & D in January (instead of February). AND…..we’ll be doing a little something special for that one! Stay tuned for more details!**
Fun Gatherings that Stimulate the Mind!
Our Philosophy Think & Drinks are casual, community-oriented gatherings that are intellectually stimulating and fun. You don’t need a background in philosophy to enjoy & participate. An open mind & desire to engage in thoughtful dialogue (whether from a listening or contribution standpoint) is all that’s needed! For those who love philosophy but prefer not to partake in the libations side of things, don’t let that stop you from participating in the fun. We emphasize the think over the drink!
When
2nd Thursday of every month from 7pm-9pm

Where
Reeder’s Alley — If the weather is conducive, we meet outdoors in the pavilion. If it’s cantankerous, we meet indoors in the Conference Center.

Other
Light snacks provided. BYOB.

How Do They Work?
Step into the dojo! Our Think & Drinks are monthly gatherings that consist of a “meeting of minds” over libations. After nabbing goodies and seats, getting acquainted & settling in…the eve begins.

No topics are off-limit; no questions are too broad, narrow, abstract, or concrete. Questions are posed by participants in a “round-robin” fashion, clarified, and then voted upon collectively.
Once our “avenue of philosophical pursuit” is in place, we’re ready to dive into a fun night of facilitated philosophical discussion.

Philosophy Workshop: Aristotle on Friendship
2024-12-04 18:30 - 20:30 | Reeder’s Alley Conference Center, 101 Reeder's Alley, Helena, MT, 59601, United States
What We’ll Explore

The virtue of friendship was highly valued in ancient Greek philosophy, from the early Pythagorean fellowships, through nearly every major philosophical school and tradition, down to the final synthesis of these various schools in the Athenian Academy, more than 1,000 years after Pythagoras. In between, Aristotle devotes two out of the ten books of his Nicomachean Ethics entirely to the topic of friendship — far more space than he gives to any of the other virtues.

In this evening’s program, we’ll explore some of the core concepts in Aristotle’s account of friendship. We’ll consider the various goals toward which friendship might be directed, the need for true friends to be of good ethical character, and the conditions under which friendship can flourish.
Finally, we’ll follow Aristotle in asking whether friendship can arise only among equals, or whether it’s possible for people of very different status to be friends as well. Can a parent truly be a friend to her child, a teacher to his students, or a ruler to her subjects? Rather than a mere all-or-nothing account, we’ll be able to consider the question in terms of what it would take for genuine friendship to exist amidst such disparities of power, authority, or other human differences.
And throughout all these themes, we’ll be building a robust picture of what it takes to become, and to remain, a true friend.
Workshop Discussion Structure
Our discussion will be centered around some short extracts from Aristotle’s writings on friendship in Books VIII and IX of the Nicomachean Ethics, which we’ll read aloud together during the session. These should, in turn, provide the springboard for robust reflection, critique, and self-examination as we examine Aristotle’s arguments and their applicability to our own lives.
When
Wednesday, December 4th from 6:30pm-8:30pm
Where
Reeder’s Alley Conference Center (101 Reeder’s Alley, Helena MT 59601)
RSVP
Sign up here!
Cost
FREE (Donations appreciated)
Discussion Leader
David Nowakowski is a philosopher and educator in the Helena area whose professional work is dedicated to helping people of all ages and backgrounds access, understand, and apply the traditions of ancient philosophy to their own lives. David began studying ancient philosophies and classical languages in 2001 and has continued ever since. A scholar of the philosophical traditions of the ancient Mediterranean (Greece, Rome, and North Africa) and of the Indian subcontinent, reading Sanskrit, Latin, and classical Greek, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University in 2014. His work has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals, including Philosophy East & West, Asian Philosophy, and the Journal of Indian Philosophy, as well as in presentations to academic audiences at Harvard, Columbia University, the University of Toronto, Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and elsewhere.
After half a decade teaching at liberal arts colleges in the northeast, David chose to leave the academy in order to focus his energies on the transformative value of these ancient philosophical and spiritual traditions in his own life and practice, and on building new systems of education and community learning that will make this rich heritage alive and available to others.
A hermit by nature and by committed choice, he balances contemplative solitude with his active work in teaching, counseling, and the healing arts. David can be reached at david@merlinccc.org or via his personal website.

Make a Donation Here
Our philosophy activities are FREE to the community. While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Donations help to cover activity leader honorariums, implementation, and resource archiving, and more! If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution you can do so by clicking here. For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.

Giving Tuesday 2024
2024-12-03 00:00 - 23:59
WHAT IS GIVING TUESDAY?
GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
When: Tuesday, December 3rd (Starting @ 12am for 24-Hours)
How to give: On-line by clicking here!
Give by check: Make out to ‘Merlin CCC’, write ‘GivingTuesday’ in the memo line, and mail to 119 Reeder’s Alley, Helena MT 59601

WHY GIVE TO MERLIN?
Imagine a world where thoughtful dialogue & community co-exist. Where differing perspectives break bread. Where understanding, truth, and wisdom is a goal. Imagine you live in that world, that city, that neighborhood, that community.
Be part of that vision. Invest in that community. Support philosophy.
Your contributions on GivingTuesday will help to support our Winter & Spring philosophy in the community programming, critical, creative thinking, the exchange of ideas, and the application of philosophy to everyday living. Our programs are free to the community and are opportunities for people of all backgrounds and ages — from children to elders — to gather, to learn from and with one another, and to uniquely cultivate their personal and civic selves.

Reading & Discussion Series: Jewish Environmental Wisdom
2024-10-30 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-16 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-10-02 19:00 - 20:30 | Reeder’s Alley Conference Center, 101 Reeder's Alley, Helena, MT, 59601, United States
What We’ll Explore
This reading series will be guided by the following central question: What wisdom might Jewish traditions offer for our current environmental crises? Philosophy, as the love of wisdom, should be open to wisdom wherever it embeds itself. The Tanakh, the textual source of Judaism, arose from within a largely agrarian society with deep connections to particular lands and places. It seems reasonable, then, to start with the assumption that the traditions of thought and practice that have grown out of the Hebrew Bible (and inspired it!) might offer environmental wisdom for our pressing times.
The French and Jewish philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, had something similar in mind for his own philosophical project, which has been described as an attempt to translate Hebrew into Greek—that is, to express a Hebraic way of thinking within a Greek, or philosophic, context. Following in Levinas’s tracks here, we will also consider larger, contextualizing questions about the possibility of “translating” non-philosophical ideas into philosophical terms.
Together, over 4 every-other-Wednesday sessions, we will closely read and discuss the contemporary import of essays from a variety of Jewish authors including Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jacob Howland, Daniel Delgado, James Hatley, and others. Sessions will be discussion-based, facilitated by Kaleb Cohen and Mitchell Conway, with one additional guest facilitator joining along the way.
While each session will be self-contained (such that you can attend a stand-alone session and still benefit), participating in as many sessions as possible will allow more time to make and experience larger connections between readings, ideas, and questions explored.
FREE & open to the public. Donations appreciated.
When
Every Other Wednesday
September 18th - October 30th, 2024
7pm - 8:30pm

Where
Reeder's Alley Conference Center (101 Reeder's Alley)

RSVP
Sign up here! (Seats limited)

Other
Readings will be e-mailed upon sign-up

Cost
FREE (Donations Appreciated)
Session Readings & Focus Questions

9/18 — Judaism, Philosophy, and Translation

Readings: Jacob Howland, “Plato and the Talmud”
Core questions: How might Hebraic ideas inform philosophy? Are they philosophical or solely religious ideas? Can those ideas have any meaning outside of their cultural context?

10/2 — Between Home and Exile

Readings: Daniel Delgado, “You are but Tenants and Settlers” (supplemental/optional: Susannah Heschel, “An Exile of the Soul”)
Core question: What role might the Jewish notion of exile hold for an environmental ethic?

10/16 — Jewishness and Montana: Bison and the Soul (with guest scholar James Hatley)

Readings: James Hatley, “Living with Ghosts”
Core question: In Montana, how ought we respond to a history of violence against buffalo and Indigenous peoples and what could Jewish traditions teach us about these responses?

10/30 — Shabbat and Sh’mitah: Rest, Release, and the Land

Readings: Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Architecture of Time” and Nigel Savage, “Resetting the Planet through Sh’mitah”
Core Question: What is the meaning of rest in an age of industrialization and unrelenting resource extraction?

Series Facilitators

Kaleb Cohen’s work sits at the intersection of philosophy, environmental studies, and critical theory. He has presented and published papers on various topics, including the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, settler colonialism and environmental responsibility, and the importance of oral traditions. He holds an MA in Environmental Philosophy from the University of Montana. His graduate work culminated in developing a distinctly Jewish and anti-colonial relationship with land. He also has a background in farming, gardening, ecological restoration, and conservation. Kaleb lives in Missoula, where he teaches for the Wild Rockies Field Institute, makes bread, and hibernates during the winter.

Mitchell Conway is a Community Philosopher at Merlin CCC, an adjunct philosophy instructor at Carroll College, and serves on the Academic Advisory Board & Questions? Journal for The Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization. A student of philosophy, a theater maker, and a teacher who cares ardently about empowering young learners, his work has often been an interweaving of education, story, and inquiry. He also relishes walking in the forest. Mitchell has a Bachelor’s degree in Theater from Skidmore College and a Master’s degree in Philosophy & Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Make a Donation Here
Our philosophy activities are FREE to the community. While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Donations help to cover activity leader honorariums, implementation, and resource archiving, and more! If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution you can do so by clicking here. For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.

How Did We Get Here?: Ghost in the Machine
2024-10-17 18:30 - 20:00 | Reeder’s Alley Conference Center, 101 Reeder's Alley, Helena, MT, 59601, United States
What We’ll Explore
Until roughly the 16th century, nearly everyone in Western Europe — from common farmers and laborers, to highly educated scholars and clerics — took for granted that they lived in a cosmos teeming with a wide range of spiritual beings: living yet discarnate powers who occupied various intermediate positions between God and human beings, and who were a good and necessary part of the smooth operations of the world. These beings were known as ghosts or spirits (terms which were interchangeable in this period: the English word ghost, German geist, and Latin spiritus were all used to translate one another), or by various more specific names for their different kinds. In its broad outlines this was, as anthropologist Marshall Sahlins notes, a view Europeans shared with “most of humanity.”
Then, the story goes, everything changed, as the Scientific Revolution cast out all these intermediary spirits, leaving a cosmos that resembles a collection of inanimate machines, rather than an ecology teeming with living agents: a process which the pioneering sociologist Max Weber famously termed “the disenchantment of the world.”

And yet.

Even within Europe and its diaspora, large numbers of people still believe in — and interact with — angels, demons, and other ghosts and spirits. And this doesn’t have to be a “religious thing” — as indeed, for most of European history, it was not a religious thing. Just consider the popularity of “ghost hunting,” or how many of us name our automobiles, and talk to them to encourage them in challenging conditions. Maybe the Revolution was not quite so total as we’ve been told, and some vestiges of these spirits live on amidst the mechanized cosmos: ghosts in the machine, as it were.

In this evening’s program, we’ll consider this process of disenchantment within its historical context, and its consequences for ourselves and our modern Western worldview. We’ll examine the older, pre-Revolutionary world-picture, which historian C.S. Lewis has famously termed “the discarded image,” as it appears in history, literature, and the “natural philosophy” that would be supplanted by the modern physical sciences. We’ll consider the context in which the intellectual battles of the Scientific Revolution were fought, including the political and theological polemics of the Protestant Reformation and its aftermath, as well as the craze for witch-burnings that swept Europe and the Americas during this period. And we’ll observe some of the impacts of the disenchanted, mechanistic worldview in the development of the new social sciences, especially sociology and anthropology.

Finally, we’ll reflect on the consequences of the mechanistic worldview, however fully or partially it has been adopted: What has all of this done, to the ways that we’re able to interact with the wider world and its inhabitants? What has it done to our own self-understanding, both as individuals and as societies? And what does it mean, that the ghosts in the machine seem to live on, however awkwardly and uncomfortably, in everyday life and discourse?

When
Thursday, October 17th from 6:30pm-8pm

Where
Reeder’s Alley Conference Center

RSVP
Sign up here!

Cost
FREE (Donations appreciated)

Other
Hot tea & lights snacks provided. BYOB.

Event Facilitator

David Nowakowski is a philosopher and educator in the Helena area whose professional work is dedicated to helping people of all ages and backgrounds access, understand, and apply the traditions of ancient philosophy to their own lives. David began studying ancient philosophies and classical languages in 2001 and has continued ever since. A scholar of the philosophical traditions of the ancient Mediterranean (Greece, Rome, and North Africa) and of the Indian subcontinent, reading Sanskrit, Latin, and classical Greek, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University in 2014. His work has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals, including Philosophy East & West, Asian Philosophy, and the Journal of Indian Philosophy, as well as in presentations to academic audiences at Harvard, Columbia University, the University of Toronto, Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and elsewhere.

After half a decade teaching at liberal arts colleges in the northeast, David chose to leave the academy in order to focus his energies on the transformative value of these ancient philosophical and spiritual traditions in his own life and practice, and on building new systems of education and community learning that will make this rich heritage alive and available to others.

A hermit by nature and by committed choice, he balances contemplative solitude with his active work in teaching, counseling, and the healing arts. David can be reached at david@merlinccc.org or via his personal website.

Make a Donation Here
Our philosophy activities are FREE to the community. While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Donations help to cover activity leader honorariums, implementation, and resource archiving, and more! If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution you can do so by clicking here. For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.

Philosophy Walk: Re-Indigenizing Public Lands (Registration Full)
2024-10-13 10:00 - 13:00 | Ten Mile Creek Park, 1505 Williams St., Helena, MT, 59602
What We’ll Explore
In this walk led by Dr. Shane Doyle (Apsáalooke nation) we’ll reflect on the significance of public lands as both the nexus point & the dividing line between ancient ways of life and the post-colonial world. Some of the questions we’ll consider include together:

Public lands belong to everyone, and no one; how do we most appropriately honor those lands in perpetuity? And what variables should be considered when thinking about how best to protect (all or parts of) those landscapes?
Did wilderness exist before white people came to Montana, and if it didn’t, how would we know?
How do Tribal oral traditions inform our understanding of wilderness from an Indigenous perspective?

When
Sunday, October 13th from 10am-1pm
Where
Ten Mile Creek Park (1505 Williams St., Helena MT 59602)
~ As you are head west out of Helena, turn right (North) onto Williams Street and follow it around until you see the fenced parking area on the east side of the road. ~
RSVP
Our walk is at max capacity. If you’d like to be placed on a waiting list please e-mail us at marisa@merlinccc.org & we will contact you if someone cancels to see if you’d like to join us.
Cost
FREE (Donations appreciated)
Other
Wear weather appropriate attire & comfortable shoes

Walk Leader

Shane Doyle, Ed.D (Independent Educational & Cultural Consultant, Native Nexus Consulting) is a Crow tribal member who grew up in Crow Agency, and currently resides in Bozeman, MT. A singer of Northern Plains tribal style of music for 30 years, Shane also holds a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction, and completed a post-doctoral appointment in genetics with the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2016. With 20 years of teaching experience, Shane is a full-time educational and cultural consultant, designing American Indian curriculum for many organizations, including Montana public schools, the National Park Service, and the Museum of the Rockies. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Bozeman-based Extreme History Project, Hopa Mountain, and the Archaeological Conservancy, as well as serving on the Montana Arts Council culture and aesthetics committee and the Governors Parks in Focus Committee. Shane was a founding member of the Montana Wilderness Association’s Hold Our Ground Campaign in 2017, and speaks throughout the region on the topics of northern Plains Tribal culture and the importance of public lands in Montana. He was instrumental in the repatriation of the Anzick Clovis Child, and worked as a consultant and actor for the History Channel’s “Lost Treasure of the Little Bighorn Battle.”

Make a Donation Here
Our philosophy activities are FREE to the community. While donations are never expected, they are always appreciated and help to keep programs like these going. Donations help to cover activity leader honorariums, implementation, and resource archiving, and more! If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution you can do so by clicking here. For those facing more challenging financial circumstances, we ask that you please try to “pay it forward” with acts of kindness for your neighbors and community.
