Flag ceremony to be re-enacted

ULM, Mont. – A rare American flag reportedly given to the Ojibwa Tribe more than 200 years ago is to change hands again in a re-enactment ceremony near here today.

The hand-sewn flag was given to tribal members in Minnesota by U.S. soldiers, who told them to present it at forts for guns and ammunition, Mike Gopher of Great Falls said.

Gopher’s mother, Dorothy, is the seventh keeper of the flag – referred to as the “Indian Peace Flag of 1803” by family members.

Today, members of the Lewis and Clark Honor Guard will re-enact the presentation of the flag to the Gopher family at Ulm Pishkun State Park. It will then be returned to a vault for safekeeping.

“Please dress in your finest uniforms, for we are meeting with the natives as told to do so by President Jefferson,” Mike Lamphier, portraying Capt. William Clark, instructed members of the guard.

Dorothy Gopher said the family wants legal possession of the flag, but may put it on permanent display in the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.