May 17th, 2013

Yesterday we were down in the Moiese Valley on the Flathead River. The whole student body from Two Eagle River School was in attendance along with most of the faculty and the family of Doug Morigeau. We were there to dedicate that fishing area to Doug Morigeau, he was brutally murdered in December 2012 by William Lee Calvert in a home invasion. The family and his friends went to the Salish Kootenai Tribal Council to obtain permission to dedicate that area in his name. Doug Morigeau loved to fish in this spot.  The horses were there because Doug was also a cowboy in his younger days and his father (Sonny Morigeau) and brother (John Morigeau) still keep a few head. They also have hay fields which they used  to feed their cattle and horses.

Cheryl Morigeau, Doug's wife is in the red jacket. The woodburning was done by Shawn Dobey (I'm not sure), the art teacher at Two Eagle River School. The poem in the middle was written by Ashley Lozeau. There were approximately one hundred people in attendance.

From left to right are: Elmer (Sonny) Morigeau, (Doug's father) Jermain Charlo (Granddaughter), Vicki Morigeau (Daughter), Donovan Sorrell Morigeau (Grandson). walking away under an umbrella are Rosalie Sheridan (daughter of Tom Sheridan) and Heather from Browning. We were there to honor his memory. The festivities started with a prayer by a Two Eagle employee and Rudy King from the Northern Cheyenne reservation who prayed in his language. Rudy King is the husband of Clarice King, the recently retired principal of the Two Eagle River School. After the prayers a drum group composed of area family members and members of the Two Eagle River student body sang a memorial song in his honor.

The photo is of Shawn Morigeau leading a black horse away from the gathering and tying it to a tree. Shawn and other family rode from their homesite to the park in his memory. The park is in a very picturesque spot along the Flathead River south of the highway that winds through the Moiese Valley.

From left to right are: Charlotte Morigeau (John Morigeau's wife) Ted Schall (Doug Morigeau's best friend),  Claudette Bird (Rodney Bird's wife) walking away, Judy Gibbs with glasses and Lisa (the librarian) with red hair. We were waiting for the dedication to begin and shooting the breeze with people we knew.

Vicki was taking  photos of the dedication so I took a couple of her.