(bright music) - [Announcer] This University of Montana School of Journalism production is made possible with support from the Greater Montana Foundation, encouraging communication on issues, trends and values of importance to Montanans.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - A heart.

I do have to say that the plant and the mine, more the plant than the mine, but they're probably the heart, considering that most everybody's parents work there.

- I have a love for, a sense of love for the community and the people that are here.

Everybody in town is somehow connected, either directly or indirectly, but we take a lot of pride in that, and it is a binding, in addition to being a small town, it's a binding quality within our community, the fact that we're all somehow connected to the power plant or the mine.

Celebrating 100 years as a community.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ Happy birthday dear Ken ♪ Happy birthday to you (group chattering) - [Speaker] I think that's tea.

I think that's tea.

- [Speaker 2] That was tea.

- Ducky is here.

- The list is on my desk.

- When plant one and two shut down, a lot of people moved out and stuff, and so there was a lot of empty houses, and so the businesses, a lot of the businesses closed.

- [Speaker 3] Berlin does that.

He puts people on TV.

- [Speaker 4] Yeah, been right here (chuckling).

(gentle music) - I got to watch the town grow.

No grocery store.

We had to go all the way to Forsyth to the spring to get our water.

Growing up, we never knew from year to year who we were gonna have in our classes, because we'd have an influx of people, and they'd be here six, seven months and then gone again.

The community is more or less focused around the kids.

(gentle music) - 10 years.

10 years in California, and then COVID hit, and my mom was always working in the hospital, so I had to take care of my brother.

But then school went online as well, so I was trying to get him to do his schoolwork because he was what, a kindergartner?

I was still trying to get my work done as a freshman, taking college classes as well, and so it just wasn't working because I couldn't get my work done, and so we moved up here with all my family.

Ms. McCray, this is for Friday.

Ms. McCray, this is for Friday.

- [Ms. McCray] Okay, thanks.

- Yeah, thank you.

Well, California schools are huge.

My freshman class was 2,000 kids, and there's like 2,000 people in this town.

Morning.

- Good morning.

- How are you?

- I rushed here.

- I know you did.

I'm letting you through the door.

- The time change had me over.

Well I just got these.

These are for senior pictures, because when I got here, I moved here.

Everybody, they didn't really care about what shoes they wore and stuff.

I'll show you my favorite favorites.

There's these ones.

In California, everybody cared.

You stepped on their shoe, it was over with.

Like, "You just stepped on my new shoe, homie."

Like, "What?"

I feel like it's a love/hate relationship with basketball, for sure.

You'll go in the gym to escape whatever you're doing and then you'll shoot, you'll miss all your shots, and you're like, "What the heck?

This is supposed to be my escape."

People say stuff out of pocket all the time, and they're like, "That's normal."

It's normalized here.

No one checks them.

It's okay.

As if they were to go to California and say that and say that to somebody of color or something, it just don't look right.

It's like, "Who taught you?"

You know?

Why are you saying that?

What's going on?

And you just sit there sometimes, and sometimes you just take it, because you don't know what's gonna happen, or what do you say to them when that happens?

You can obviously stick up for yourself, but sometimes I think that doesn't go a long way.

I'll forever keep this one, because this is state.

We haven't won state in 21, 23 years, something like that.

My mom was the last state championship at Colstrip.

Yeah, she was the last one.

That's crazy.

(gentle music) (crowd chattering) - That was pretty easy.

- Basket to basket.

We gotta fight it, right?

And now listen to me, what I'm telling you.

You need to hustle to the middle.

(crowd cheering) (announcer speaking faintly) (timer buzzing) - A lot of kids have, I wouldn't say social issues, but issues communicating their emotions and thoughts here.

There's a lot of anxiety and I wouldn't say sometimes depression when it comes to not having super close relationships with people, because a lot of people are jumping around and moving, so they don't know everybody everywhere.

A lot of people in Colstrip, they're good people, but they're very single-minded.

I can't speak out to everything about everyone, but there's a lot of people who are very afraid of change and very afraid of adapting to different things.

(crowd cheering) - Don't think somebody else is gonna get it.

(crowd cheering) (timer buzzing) (crowd cheering) (cheerleaders chanting) (gentle music) - I choose to go to school in Colstrip, because, well, my mom makes me.

Sometimes Colstrip is just not it, but they have a good education, so that's why my mom wants me to stay.

All my friends are from the res, so we stay around with each other.

Some of us intermingle, but not really.

Most of just stay with each other.

I'm just really comfortable with myself.

Honestly, I just focus on school and sports.

It's maybe a 30 minute drive, depending on the roads, because sometimes living on the divide, the roads get bad, like maybe 10 times worse than they do over there.

This is my little room, my little wall of my friends.

These are gonna be the first pair of little moccasins for my daughter.

They were my little sister's when she was younger, so I'm really surprised that we found them.

I turned 18 on November 16th, and then two days later I found out that I was four and a half months pregnant.

I'm not really nervous about it, maybe just for the birth part.

That's the only thing I've been nervous about, but other than that, I've been pretty good during my pregnancy.

(soft music) We're gonna name her Laklynn Wahena-Ray and then my boyfriend's last name, Schindler.

So she'll have his name.

We've been going for almost three and a half years.

(soft music) How long does it take for your belly to shrink after your pregnancy?

You know, because I have a dress for graduation, but yeah, I don't know.

Definitely still have to take maternity photos, so that will probably kind of be my prom, I guess.

(soft music) - The community tries to be there for you when they can be, so it's really nice.

A lot of people are really proud of being part of Colstrip, especially the older people.

The kids are kids.

Some of them are really proud to be part of it.

I know a lot of the Egans are, because they're a big family in Colstrip.

- [Ashtynn] I'm mostly proud to be from Colstrip.

It's basically a pride moment just to be like, "Yeah, I'm from Colstrip."

- Morning, Ashtynn.

- Morning.

- [Teacher] How are you?

- Good, how are you?

People know you by your last name.

Everybody knows me for a wild child, wanted to do everything, was always out there.

As I've grown up, I've been holding myself back from doing what I used to do.

I can't do certain things because of my last name, just because.

I'm not in a lot of group chats because they think I'm a snitch because of my last name, but they're still friends with me.

That's the only way how you can have fun in this town, is to create your own fun.

♪ Happy Birthday to you ♪ Happy Birthday to you ♪ Happy Birthday dear Lea ♪ Happy Birthday to you (Malea exhaling) (group cheering) - [Malea] I mean, I kind of clicked with a couple girls without my cousin, but just having her there and her already growing up here and knowing so much about it and not to hang out with and not to go to these places.

I think that helped me.

- [Ashtynn] When Malea and them came from California, my family was nervous about our reputation being ruined because they're from California.

But I was like, "They're literally family."

Everybody just thinks bad until they get to know someone.

- I'm kind of nervous for that aspect of the possibility of not making friends in college, but I'm kind of scared to be on my own, but I'm also kind of excited.

I mean, I like Bozeman.

(gentle music) I haven't gone to prom in my entire high school, because freshman year was COVID, and then my sophomore and junior year I got in trouble, and now this year I got in trouble, so it's fine.

Because it's like senior prom I guess, but it's sad.

I mean, I don't know what's about prom.

I've never been.

- Oh.

- [Malea] The only thing I'd be missing out is getting cute and getting dressed up and wearing a cute dress and getting my makeup and hair done.

- [Speaker] Are you wearing a dress?

- [Kylie] Yeah, I guess.

- [Speaker] You're wearing a dress, Kylie?

- [Speaker 2] She wore one last year.

- [Photographer] Okay, are you guys all ready?

One.

And look like you're having fun, for God's sake.

Ready?

Three, two, one, go.

(group laughing) - Oh, shit.

- Oh, actually, that's good.

It was actually really cute.

- [TV Actor] If we don't use the blood to figure out if he's Ricky's father, then he just went through that attack for no reason whatsoever.

Is that what you want, man?

Huh?

Do you want that to be all for nothing?

No.

- Is this good for pictures?

- Yeah.

Make sure dad doesn't wear anything dumb.

- Wow, I'm Ricky's father.

(soft music) - What heels are you wearing with your dress?

- I have these white platform ones, but they're on the top shelf in a box, so I'll show you later.

(soft music) - [Roslyn] I'm trying to save up money to be stable enough to find an apartment or a house so I can get my certificate and then come back and work at the mine or either the plant for a little while.

Colstrip would probably be the best place, because they make good money there.

- [Announcer] And our next couple, Brooke Burnett escorted by Brian O'Connor.

(audience applauding) Our next couple is Avery Brumeyer escorted by Xavier Terrence.

(audience applauding) And now our next couple, Laina McClain escorted by Roslyn Anderson.

(audience applauding) (audience cheering) And our next couple, Ashtynn Egan escorted by Ty Borg and Karen Yeager.

(audience applauding) Your 2023 Prom Queen.

Ashtynn Egan.

(audience applauding) - I am excited to play volleyball at MCC.

I think that's what I'm really looking forward to.

(dance music) Honestly, I'm so excited.

I'm excited for a fresh start.

People won't know me as my last name.

(dance music) They'll know me as Ashtynn.

(dance music) (exciting music) - [Cooper] It was an all right time.

There wasn't much to do, but overall the people were good.

♪ Celebrate good times, come on ♪ ♪ Celebrate good times, come on ♪ (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - [Ashtynn] Oh, they're called blasts.

Oh my God.

There's blasts, and it shakes the whole town.

When the mine does a blast, it shakes the entire town.

Especially in our house, everything starts shaking.

You think you're in an earthquake.

- [Malea] Over half of everyone who lives in town.

- [Ashtynn] Not even in town.

- [Malea] Works at the plant or the coal mine.

If you like take that, shut that down, that's like thousands.

- [Ashtynn] That's taking away our.

- [Malea] Thousands of people's jobs.

- It's taking away our home.

(gentle music) Change is good.

- Yeah, I think the change is gonna be good.

I'm kind of nervous and scared, but I feel like that comes with anything new.

But I'm excited.

- Oh, there's a deer.

- See, look.

There goes the deer.

- Told you.

They act like they run the town.

♪ And loved me when you didn't have to ♪ ♪ But you did and you do and he knew ♪ ♪ Thank God for giving me you ♪ Thank God, Thank God (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (soft music) (soft music continues)