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Humanities Montana director fights for hidden voices of the West

July 6, 2020 /

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“The humanities help us make sense of the world and our place in it.”

Randi Lynn Tanglen’s life has been shaped by the West — so much so that she dedicated her life to its preservation and understanding, and the hidden voices — such as those of women and Native Americans — that have shaped it in turn.

Before becoming the director this June of Humanities Montana, the state’s humanities council, Tanglen was in Texas, teaching at a liberal arts college in Sherman, in the “Texoma” region of northern Texas and southern Oklahoma. Before Texas, it was Arizona, and before Arizona, Montana. All along the way, she said, a connection to her home resonated within, thanks to her childhood.