The Blackfeet Indian Reservation or Blackfeet Nation is an Indian reservation of the Blackfeet tribe in Montana in the United States. It is located east of Glacier National Park and borders Canada to the north. Cut Bank Creek and Birch Creek make up part of its eastern and southern borders. The reservation contains 6,142.011 km² (2,371.444 sq mi), half again the size of the national park and larger than the size of the state of Delaware. It is located in parts of Glacier and Pondera Counties. BIA map of reservations in the United States Tribal sovereignty: Map of the United States, with non-reservation land highlighted. ... Crowfoot, former Head Chief of the Blackfeet Nation The Piegan Blackfeet, (Pikuni in Blackfoot) are a tribe of Blackfoot Native Americans based in Montana. ... Official language(s) English Capital Helena Largest city Billings Area  Ranked 4th  - Total 147,165 sq mi (381,156 km²)  - Width 255 miles (410 km)  - Length 630 miles (1,015 km)  - % water 1  - Latitude 44°26N to 49°N  - Longitude 104°2W to 116°2W Population  Ranked... There is also a non-adjoining national park in Canada by the same name. ... Official language(s) None Capital Dover Largest city Wilmington Area  Ranked 49th  - Total 2,491 sq mi (6,452 km²)  - Width 30 miles (48 km)  - Length 100 miles (161 km)  - % water 21. ... Glacier County is a county located in the state of Montana. ... Pondera County is a county located in the state of Montana. ...

Blackfeet Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of Montana

Blackfeet Nation flag

Image File history File links Locator map for Blackfeet Indian Reservation altered from PD map by rmhermen File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Locator map for Blackfeet Indian Reservation altered from PD map by rmhermen File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Bandera_Blackfoot_Nation. ... Image File history File links Bandera_Blackfoot_Nation. ...

History

A large area of Northern Montana was set aside for Indian use by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. Part of this land was reclaimed by the U.S. in 1874. The Sweetgrass Hills Treaty of 1887 broke the Indian reserve into reservations for several separate tribes and established most of the modern reservation borders. In 1893, the Great Northern Railway was completed through the reservation starting the tourist economy and in 1896, the tribe sold off the western part of the reservation which later became part of Glacier National Park, although initially mining was attempted there. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was signed on September 17 between United States treaty commissioners and representatives of the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, Shoshone, Assiniboine, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara nations. ... 1851 (MDCCCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... A Great Northern EMD F7 Locomotive. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ...

The Blackfoot tribes were a traditional buffalo culture until the failure of the buffalo hunt in 1883 as a result of non-native overhunting. This led to the Starvation Winter when 600 natives died. The federal government tried to establish farms and cattle ranches to reduce hunger and settle the nomadic tribe; however, the area proved marginal for either use and the tribe never became agriculturally self-supporting. Bear Bull The Blackfoot Confederacy is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana. ... Historically, the Great Plains were the range of the bison and of the Great Plains culture of the Native American tribes of the Blackfeet, Crow, Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche, and others. ... Binomial name Bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies B. b. ... 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (often called cows in vernacular and contemporary usage, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ...

Geography

Elevations in the reservation range from a low of 3,400 feet (1000 m²) to a high of 9066 feet (2763 m²) at Chief Mountain. The eastern part of the reservation is mostly open hills of grassland while a narrow strip along the western edge is covered by forests of fir and spruce. Free-ranging cattle are present in several areas, sometimes including on roadways. Chief Mountain is a prominent landmark in Southern Alberta, Canada as well as in Northern Montana in the United States. ... Grasslands are very generally open and continuous, fairly flat area of grass. ... FIR may stand for: finite impulse response (a property of some digital filters) far infrared, i. ... Species About 35; see text. ...

Several waterways drain the area with the largest being the St. Mary River, Two Medicine River, Milk River, Birch Creek and Cut Bank Creek. There are 175 miles (282 km) of streams and eight major lakes on the reservation. The Saint Mary River is a tributary of the Saskatchewan River. ... The Two Medicine River is a tributary of the Marias River, approximately 60 mi (97 km) long, in northwestern Montana in the United States. ... The Milk River shown highlighted The Milk River is a tributary of the Missouri River, 729 mi (1,173 km) long in the U.S. state of Montana and the Canadian province of Alberta. ... Birch Creek is a tributary of the Two Medicine River in Montana in the United States. ... Cut Bank Creek is a tributary of the Marias River, approximately 75 mi (123 km) long, in northwestern Montana in the United States. ...

Blackfeet Indian Reservation looking into mountains of Glacier National Park

Image File history File links rangeland on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation looking into Glacier National Park (U.S.). Mountains slightly obscured by 2003 forest fires. ... Image File history File links rangeland on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation looking into Glacier National Park (U.S.). Mountains slightly obscured by 2003 forest fires. ... There is also a non-adjoining national park in Canada by the same name. ...

Demographics

The 2000 census reported a population of 10,100 living on the reservation lands. The population density is 4.26 people per square mile (1.64 people/km²). The main community is Browning which is the seat of tribal government. Other towns serve the tourist economy along the edge of the park: St. Mary and East Glacier Park which has an Amtrak station and the historic Glacier Park Lodge. Small communities include Babb, Kiowa, Blackfoot, Seville, Heart Butte, Star School, and Glacier Homes. North American Indian Days is an annual festival held on pow-wow grounds near the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning. Not on the reservation, but adjacent to its eastern edge, is the city of Cut Bank. 2000 US Census logo The Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13. ... Browning is a town located in Glacier County, Montana. ... St. ... East Glacier Park Village is a census-designated place located in Glacier County, Montana. ... Heart Butte is a census-designated place located in Pondera County, Montana. ... Starr School is a census-designated place located in Glacier County, Montana. ... This article is about a Native American gathering. ... Cut Bank is a city located in Glacier County, Montana. ...

Communities

• Browning
• East Glacier Park Village
• Heart Butte
• North Browning
• Saint Mary
• South Browning
• Starr School

Browning is a town located in Glacier County, Montana. ... East Glacier Park Village is a census-designated place located in Glacier County, Montana. ... Heart Butte is a census-designated place located in Pondera County, Montana. ... North Browning is a census-designated place located in Glacier County, Montana. ... St. ... South Browning is a census-designated place located in Glacier County, Montana. ... Starr School is a census-designated place located in Glacier County, Montana. ...

Government

As on other American reservations, the tribe runs local government and provides most services including courts, child welfare, employment assistance, wildlife management, health care, education, land management, senior services as well as garbage collection and water systems. The native police were replaced by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs in 2003 because of problems in the local force. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the Department of the Interior charged with the administration and management of 55. ...

The reservation includes several types of land use. Of the total 1,462,640 acres (5919 km²), 650,558 acres (2633 km²) are held in trust for enrolled tribal members, 311,324 acres (1260 km²) are held directly by the tribe, 8,292 acres (34 km²) are Government Reserve, mostly irrigation projects and the Cut Bank Boarding School Reserve. The remaining 529,826 acres (2144 km²) are Fee land which is taxable and may be privately owned by the tribe, tribe members or non-tribe members.

The tribe leases land for homes, farms, grazing, and commercial uses. Leases must always be offered to tribe members first before non-members. The tribe also has the right of first refusal; all private land offered for sale must be offered to the tribe first. If they decline to purchase it a waiver is granted. Right of first refusal is the right to make an offer before offers from others are considered. ...

Relationship of National Park and the Reservation

Image File history File links Blackfeet Indian Reservation map create from PD U.S, National Atlas, altered by rmhermen File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Blackfeet Indian Reservation map create from PD U.S, National Atlas, altered by rmhermen File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Economy

Unemployment runs very high on the reservation. In 2001, the BIA reported 69% unemployment among registered members of the tribe.[1] Among those who were employed that year, 26% earned less than the poverty guideline. The Blackfeet tribal business council is chaired by Earl Old Person, who has also been chief of the Blackfeet Nation since 1978.

The major income source of the reservation is oil and natural gas leases on the oil fields on tribal lands. In 1982, there were 643 producing oil wells and 47 producing gas wells. The reservation also has a significant tourist industry. Other economic activities include ranching and a small timber industry which supports a pencil factory in Browning.[2] Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and elaion – oil or Latin oleum – oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... Natural gas is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Ranching is the raising of cattle or sheep on rangeland, although one might also speak of ranching with regard to less common livestock such as elk, bison or emu. ... Timber in storage for later processing at a sawmill Timber is a term used to describe wood, either standing or that has been processed for use—from the time trees are felled, to its end product as a material suitable for industrial use—as structural material for construction or wood... This article is about the handwriting tool. ...

There are no paved north-south roads in Glacier National Park, access to sites on the east side of the park is provided by US 89 which runs through the reservation to the Canadian border crossing near Chief Mountain which provides access to the Canadian sister park, Waterton Lakes National Park. Both east-west routes for the park travel through the reservation as does passenger train service. Several hiking trails continue out of the park across the reservation and require Blackfeet-issued permits. United States Highway 89 is a north-south United States highway with two branches. ... Chief Mountain is a prominent landmark in Southern Alberta, Canada as well as in Northern Montana in the United States. ... Waterton Lakes National Park is a national park located in the southwest corner of Alberta, Canada, and borders Glacier National Park in Montana, USA. Waterton was Canadas fourth national park, formed in 1895 and named after Waterton Lake. ... Two hikers in the Mount Hood National Forest Eagle Creek hiking Hiking is a form of walking, undertaken with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery. ...

Farms located at least partially on the reservation reported a total income of $9 million in 2002. A total of 354 farms covered 1,291,180 acres (5225 km²), the majority of the reservation's land. Most of these farms were family-owned including the 198 farms which were owned by Native Americans. Eighty percent of the land was used for raising beef cattle, which also produced eighty percent of farm income. Other livestock included hogs, and chickens with only small numbers of milk cows, bison, horses, and sheep. Of 245,530 acres (994 km²) used for growing crops, only 32,158 acres (130 km²), 13% were irrigated. Crops raised included wheat, barley, and hay with a smaller amount of oats.[3] Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (often called cows in vernacular and contemporary usage, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... HOG or hog can mean:- A pig, originally a castrated male pig. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A glass of cows milk A goat kid feeding on its mothers milk Milk is the nutrient fluid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals (including monotremes). ... Binomial name Bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies B. b. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Species See text. ... High-altitude aerial view of irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara ( ) Irrigation is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops or plants. ... Species T. aestivum T. boeoticum T. compactum T. dicoccoides T. dicoccon T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta T. sphaerococcum References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 For the indie rock group see: Wheat (band). ... Binomial name Hordeum vulgare L. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae. ... Hay is dried grass or legumes cut and used for animal feed. ... Binomial name Avena sativa Carolus Linnaeus (1753) The Oat (Avena sativa) is a species of cereal grain, and the seeds of this plant. ...

Wildfire firefighting is a major seasonal income source. In 2000, some 1,000 Blackfeet worked as firefighters including the elite Chief Mountain Hotshots team. Firefighting income brought in $6.1 million that year. However this income is highly variable depending on the severity of the wildfire season. Bitterroot National Forest wildfire A wildfire, also known as a wildland fire, forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, brush fire, peat fire (gambut in Indonesia), bushfire (in Australasia), or hill fire, is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wildland areas, but which can also consume houses or agricultural resources. ...

External links

• Blackfeet Tribal Land Department
• Official tribe website

References

• Blackfeet Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, Montana United States Census Bureau