Dr. Murton Leon McCluskey

Doctor Murton “Murt” Leon McCluskey, aged 89, passed away on August 10, 2026. He was born on September 12, 1936, in Browning, Montana, on the Blackfeet Reservation.

Murton attended BIA boarding schools and graduated from Fort Totten Community High School in North Dakota. He joined the Military Navy branch after high school and served as a Hospital Corpsman and Operating Room Tech. After his service he got his Bachelors and Master of Science in Elementary Education and Social Studies at MSU Northern and his Doctoral Degree in Teacher Education from the University of North Dakota. He started his work in education as a teacher for Rocky Boy School and Havre Public Schools. When he received his Doctorate, he accepted a position as Director of Indian Education for the Great Falls School system where he retired.

Dr. McCluskey was a man of many accomplishments. He served in the United States Navy for 4 years and was Honorably Discharged. He was married to his wife, Verna McCluskey for 69 years. He wrote/co-wrote three books (The McCluskey Boys: Adventures in an Indian Boarding School; Your Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Pow Wows; and A Curriculum Guide to Learning About American Indians).

Dr. McCluskey worked tirelessly and passionately to help improve education opportunities for Indian children, he was a trailblazer for the Montana Indian Education in the early 70’s promoting Article X, Section 2 of the Montana Constitution. He helped plan and administer 12 OPI sponsored Montana Institutes for Effective Teaching of American Indian Children in which over 600 Montana teachers earned their recertification credit and Indian Education for All training.

A few of his many honors and awards from his hard work include the National Indian Education Association, NIEA Educator of the Year, Montana Education Association, MEA Human Relations Award, and the Montana Indian Education Association, MIEA Educator of the Year.

Murton is survived by his wife, Verna McCluskey; and sister, Murna Thomas.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Chapel, 1410 13th St S, Great Falls, on August 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. with a reception to follow at Schnider Funeral Home Hospitality Room.