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Blackfeet Tribe of the
Blackfeet Indian Reservation
of Montana

Aamsskáápipikani, Pikuni
Indian reservation
Northern boundary of the Blackfeet Tribe, Montana
Northern boundary of the Blackfeet Tribe, Montana
Flag of Blackfeet Tribe of theBlackfeet Indian Reservationof Montana
Flag
Location in Montana
Location in Montana
Tribe Blackfoot (Niitsitapi)
Country United States
State Montana
Counties Glacier
Pondera
Headquarters Browning
Government
 • Body Vern Timmerman
Area
 • Total 2,285.4 sq mi (5,919.1 km2)
 • Fee lands 827.85 sq mi (2,144.13 km2)
Highest elevation
9,066 ft (2,763 m)
Lowest elevation
3,400 ft (1,000 m)
Population
 (2017)
 • Total 9,929
 • Density 4.34458/sq mi (1.67745/km2)
Website blackfeetnation.com
Blackfeet Reservation Entrance Montana US2
Entering the reservation on U.S. Route 2

The Blackfeet Nation, officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Montana. They are part of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Three of the four tribes in the Blackfoot Confederacy live in Canada and the fourth, the Blackfeet Nation, live in the United States.

The Blackfeet Indian Reservation is located east of Glacier National Park and borders the Canadian province of Alberta. Cut Bank Creek and Birch Creek form part of its eastern and southern borders. The reservation contains 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2). It is located in parts of Glacier and Pondera counties.

History

In the 1600s, the Blackfeet tribe, an Algonquin-speaking tribe, was forced to move from their home in the woodlands near the Great Lakes by British traders at James Bay. They settled in the region around Montana, in the northwestern Great Plains.

The Blackfeet roamed the area, following herds of bison (buffalo) for food, clothing, and shelter. They used cliffs like Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump to hunt bison. In this dangerous way to hunt, men would scare a herd of bison and chase some off a cliff, where other men would be waiting at the bottom to kill those who were not already dead from the fall. No part of the bison was wasted.

Tipis were perfect homes for the Blackfeet because they were easy to take down, carry, and build again when the tribe needed to move. They used wooden poles and bison hides to build them.

Blackfeet clothing was made from deerskin and bison hides. Chiefs wore tall feather headdresses. This showed their importance to the tribe. The men wore breechcloths, leggings, and moccasins. The women wore long dresses decorated with fringes, beads, porcupine quills, and elk teeth.

In the 1800s, the Blackfeet got horses and firearms. This helped them hunt bison better. By this time, they controlled a large area from current-day Edmonton, Alberta Province, almost to Yellowstone National Park, and from Glacier National Park to the Black Hills of South Dakota.

In the late 1800s, European settlers forced many Blackfeet onto smaller reservations. Only one of the four tribes settled in the United States. The Blackfeet have worked hard to protect their sacred site, the Badger-Two Medicine area.

Geography

The lowest point on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation is 3,400 feet (1,000 m) above sea level. The highest is Chief Mountain at 9,066 feet (2,763 m). The eastern part of the reservation is mostly open hills of grassland. There is a narrow strip along the western edge covered by forests of fir and spruce. Free-ranging cattle are in many areas. Sometimes they walk on roadways.

St. Mary River, Two Medicine River, Milk River, Birch Creek and Cut Bank Creek are rivers in the area. There are 175 miles (282 km) of streams and eight major lakes on the reservation.

The reservation sits to the east of the Rocky Mountains and Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana. The Blackfeet call the Rocky Mountains the "Backbone of the World." They have named several peaks in the Rocky Mountains. Some of these names are Morning Star, Poia, Little Plume, Running Crane, Spotted Eagle, Kiyo, Scarface, Elkcalf Bullshoe, and Curly Bear.

Demographics

Blackfeet Indian Reservation
Blackfeet Indian Reservation, looking at the mountains of Glacier National Park

The 2020 census reported a population of 9,929 living on the reservation lands. The population density is 4.34/sq mi (1.68/km2).

The Blackfeet Nation has 17,321 enrolled members. The main community is Browning, Montana, which is the seat of tribal government. Other towns attract tourists to the edge of the park: St. Mary and East Glacier Park Village, which has an Amtrak passenger station and the historic Glacier Park Lodge. Small communities include Babb, Kiowa, Blackfoot, Seville, Heart Butte, Starr School, and Glacier Homes.

Communities

Culture

The tribe has long oral history. It tells about their special central place, the Badger-Two Medicine area. The Blackfeet believe it is their site of creation and origin.

The Rocky Mountain Front near Birch Creek (the Badger-Two Medicine area) is covered by the Treaty of 1896, which gives Blackfeet tribal members the right to hunt, fish, and cut wood in the area. It also protects the spiritual and cultural uses of the Badger-Two Medicine area.

In 2002, the Department of Interior declared about two-thirds — almost 90,000 acres (36,000 ha) — of the Badger-Two Medicine area along the Rocky Mountain Front as eligible for listing as a Traditional Cultural District in the National Register of Historic Places. Having this land recognized in the register was important to the Blackfeet.

The nation celebrates North American Indian Days, an annual festival held on pow wow grounds, near the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning.

Economy

There is usually a high unemployment rate on the reservation. Its major sources of income include petroleum and natural gas leases on the oil fields, tourism, ranching, and farming. Tribe members also work in wildfire firefighting.

Government

Blackfeet Indian Reservation map
Relationship of the National Park and the reservation

The early Blackfeet did not have much government. Bands were led by chiefs who did what they thought was best for the tribe.

Today, the Blackfeet Nation runs the sovereign government on the reservation through its elected Tribal Business Council. For many years, Earl Old Person led the council. Old Person was also the honorary chief of the tribe. The council is in charge of providing services to the residents like courts, child welfare, employment help, wildlife management, health care, education, land management, help for seniors, garbage collection, and water systems.

Transportation

There are no paved roads that run north and south in Glacier National Park. Vehicles can get to the east side of the park by using U.S. Route 89, which runs through the reservation to the Canada–US border. It crosses near Chief Mountain and goes into Canada. The park there is called Waterton Lakes.

Two routes run east and west on the reservation. Amtrak's Empire Builder runs through the reservation as well. Several hiking trails continue out of the park and across the reservation. Those who do not live on the reservation must get a permit from the Blackfeet to hike the trails.

Notable people

Interesting facts about the Blackfeet Nation

  • It is thought that the Blackfeet earned their name because their moccasins would become black from stamping out campfires.
  • The doorways of the Blackfeet tipis always faced east.
  • When the Blackfeet began using horses that could pull larger items, they made their tipis larger.
  • The Blackfeet decorated their clothing and tipis with paint, beads, and animal teeth.
  • The Blackfeet had a different style of body-painting for different activities: war, religious ceremonies, and celebrations.
  • The Sun Dance is an important spiritual ceremony for the Blackfeet.
  • The more important men in the tribe would wear a bear-claw necklace.
  • One of the ways the Blackfeet use to hunt bison was to scare and chase a herd toward cliff. Men would wait at the bottom to kill and prepare them for use.
  • Sometimes bands had two chiefs: a war chief and a civil (social) chief.
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