The Friends of the Museum of the Plains Indian (FMPI) was formed in 2004 to support and preserve Plains Indian culture and heritage through the arts.

We support individual artists and craftspeople by providing support for sales and promotion of their art work. We seek to educate the public about Plains Indian traditional and contemporary art work.

FMPI was also formed because of our concern and consideration for the Museum of the Plains Indian and to keep the Museum open to the public.

FMPI has been awarded a $3,000.00 Montana Cultural Trust grant for fiscal year 2012-2013. The Montana Cultural Trust is made up of members appointed by the Montana Arts Council, Montana Historical Society, and Montana Committee for the Humanities and reports to the state legislature.

The Museum of the Plains Indian (MPI) is a unit of the U.S. Department of the Interior (USDI), being managed by the USDI Indian Arts and Crats Board (IACB) since the mid-60s. The IACB manages three museum, including the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning, the Sioux Museum in Rapid City, and the Souther Plains Indian Museum in Anadarko. Thus, the museums' operation is public and political.

The IACB has two primary responsibilities, operation of the museums and support of Indian creative work / economic development. The latter includes efforts to constrain the counterfeiting of Indian arts and crafts.

Until recently the funding for the IACB museums was carried within the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) budget. The BIA had established the museums in the early 1940s as part of the education program, and while it had turned the museums over to the IACB in the '60s funding for the program still remained (and was unsupervised) in the BIA budget. In 2005 management of the IACB including funding for both its museums and arts and crafts development / protection programs, was administratively tranferred to the USDI Assistant Secretariat for Policy, Management and Budget.

Several months later the President presented a Fiscal Year 2006 Budget to the U.S. Congress that stated the Indian Arts and Crafts Board wanted to turn the museum over to non-federal "parties who mission is more closely tied to museum operations." All hiring within the IACB museum program was frozen. The IACB plan was to stop requesting museum support beginning in Fiscal Year 2008, which is October 1, 2007, under the assumption that by then they would be managed by a non-federal entity. Funds in the IACB budget could then be used exclusively for the arts and crafts development / protection program.

Several members of the Blackfeet artist community formed the Museum of the Plains Indian Artist Association (MPIAA) in 2004, to support the exhibit and sale of their traditional arts and crafts in association with Museum programs. That group acquired its 501(c)(3) tax status in early 2006.

In response to the concerns about the possible transfer / sale / closure of the Museum, an Association subgroup named the Friends of the Museum of the Plains Indian (FMPI) was formed. The Friends are involved in discussions with the Montana, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and with other states' Congressional delegations to preserve the Museum's federal status and funding. To date they have assisted in the placement of language in the House and Senate FY 07 Appropriations bills directing the USDI to maintain the three IACB museums as a federal program.

More broadly, the Friends are concerned with the Museum's long-range health. This includes assisting the Museum to develop a strong education program, acquire funds for building maintenance, and build a stronger regional arts and crafts program. More help is always needed.