Blackfeet Reservation, June 8th

We had a hard time waking up. I think the week’s work and excitement caught up to us. We had a nice breakfast, which consisted of cinnamon rolls, coffee, and juice. We watched Lakota Brule while eating; this type of music and dance is similar to the performances at the Native American Indian Days in July. This Friday was particularly special for us volunteers because we had the opportunity to help at the Flood Memorial.48 years ago the tragic flood of ’64 took many lives. In honor of those that were lost, each year Browning and the surrounding areas affected by the flood gather to share their memories of that day and those that were lost. The whole global crew helped serve food to everyone that came to the memorial, and we cleaned up afterwards.

After the ceremony, we went to the pawnshop and trading post to buy souvenirs for our family members and friends. Some of us branched off towards the museum in town, while others who had already seen the museum went to the “Espresso Teepee” for a couple of cool beverages. After talking with the owner and petting her friendly pup, we were on our way- delicious drinks in hand.

On the way back to Headstart, Linda felt like conquering a hill to see the good view at the top. As we started up the hill the wind kicked up and this is when the cold drinks seemed like a bad idea. After a few “burrrrr”s and a few more “ohhhh jeezz”s we made it to the top of this tiny hill, saw the view (which was nice), and hurried back to our temporary home to get out of the cold wind. I don’t think any of the volunteers will forget about the wind on the Blackfeet Reservation.

Michele then drove us to the Lodge Gallery and Teepee Village owned by Darrell Norman and his wife, Angelika. This place is located in a beautiful area outside of Browning and is listed in Leisure magazine as one of the top ten places to stay in the world. Both Darrell and Angelika are artists and have their worked displayed among other local artists’ work at their gallery. This is also where we counted our fifth cat on the reservation! (In a town dominated by dogs, cats are hard to come by.)

We came back to Headstart to eat Indian tacos made by Candy Lamott, a wonderful woman and our amazing cook. An Indian taco has basically the same taco ingredients as any other type of taco except for the ripped up fried bread that it is served on. This meal was very filling and as a taco lover, I highly recommend trying it.

Overall, I can say that the days here go by quickly, maybe even too fast. This might be because the days have been full of new tasks to complete, new things to learn, beautiful scenery, delicious food and most of all good company.

The week is over, I’m sad to see everyone leave. All of you contributed to a wonderful beginning to my 7-week stay on the Blackfeet Reservation. Thanks for your hard work and good humor! J

Blackfeet Reservation, June 7, 2012

By Lucia McDermott

Got up bright and early today at 6.30 so I could go swimming, then I got dressed and ate breakfast with the rest of the team.  After breakfast we all got assigned to our projects, today I was working at the Head Start Centre helping with maintenance.  Before I got started I was given a tour of the full Head Start Centre by Wayne.  The Head Start caters for children aged 2 months to 5 years of age. Wayne informed me that when a child starts at the centre they get assigned to a specific teacher and class room, he went on to say that as the child moves through the centre with age the teacher moves up with them. I believe this is a fantastic thing especially in Browning were the Childs home life may be troubled and unsteady, they are given a stable figure in the in the centre therefore this will hopefully make them be enthusiastic about going to school at a young age which will carry on as they grow and encourage them to stay in education.  

I was then assigned to help Bill who is in charge of maintenance of the Head Starts out of the Browning community. After an eventful start ,we headed at to a centre which was in Babb , a town about 40 miles out of browning. The drive was quite long but Bill had some good stories on, we were talking about the wild animals in Glacier National park and he told me about a bear attack about three years ago. There were two attacks at two different campsites in one night and one woman was dragged out of her tent in the middle of the night. This was not a reassuring thought considering the upcoming camping trip I have planned in Glacier, but what will be will be! At the Centre I was given the job of sanding walls, it was quite messy but I enjoyed it. After all the jobs were completed we headed back to a different centre just outside browning driving aside the wonderful mountains and rolling plains.

The work day finished at four, so we had some free time to explore Browning. At six we headed down to the Hut and were given yet another very friendly welcoming by Carol and her family. The food was fantastic, a feast of baked trout, mixed bean salad and fries. For desert we had a root beer float, this was alien to me as I have never tried root beer or ice cream and pop mixed together (this is not common in the U.K). Well it was an experience and it’s up there with one of the most bizarre things I’ve eaten.  After we were done eating we walked round browning to tried to burn some of the food off then headed back to the centre.  Bob Tail Feathers had kindly lent us a DVD of the Lakota people Brule dancing, this was brilliant to watch the different types of dancing and music that it encompassed. Once we had finished the DVD a very tired team headed to bed at about ten o’clock to get our rest in preparation of the flood memorial tomorrow.

June 6 - Blackfeet Reservation

Browning, Montana
by Marie Heffernan

Today I woke up to a rainy morning.  I had woken up a bit late, but Michele was really nice about waking me up and asking if I needed more sleep.  I didn't, I got up, changed and had breakfast with the rest of the group.  Since I had previously been doing outdoor work, I had no idea what would be in store for me today.  At first, I was assigned to share my computer skills with Mike LaFramboise to help with his Blackfeet Language App.  But when I went down to BCC, I couldn't find him. So I went to help Smokey Henrikson and and Valerie at the maintenance office.  I helped reorganize and clean up the catalogues and the shelves they were on in the office.

I ate lunch with Smokey and got to know about him throughout our break.  It was really nice to speak to him.  He talked about growing up, and switching schools in high school.  He'd flip-flop between Browning and Cutbank, which is about 30 miles away, just off the reservation.  Whenever he got tired of one school, he would switch to the other. 

He talked about the sports in Browning and how basketball and cross country are really popular.  Smokey had been a star long distance runner in school at Cutbank, but when he came to Browning, the coach gave them a running assignment and said he was locking the gym at 6:00 pm, regardless of whether they were back or not.  The first couple of days Smokey had to wait until the next school day to get his clothes from the gym.  To help Smokey improve, one of his friends told him to chase horses with him over acres of land.  Smokey thought he was crazy at first but he did try it and ended up improving, though he could never actually grab a horse tail like his friend could.  Smokey said that's how the Indians got their food before bows and arrows and buffalo jumps were thought of.  The Indians would literally outrun their meal. 

Buffalo Jump

This evening, we barbecued with Brother Ray, one of the Cristian Brothers from the De La Salle school in Browning.  There is a large Catholic influence on the reservation due to the missionaries that came here in the late 1800s.  They came to spread Catholicism  and of course to take away the traditions of the Indians.  It was just another way the government tried to wipe out the Indians.  The missionary got Indian children in their school by saying they couldn't get their food ration unless they went there.  They also took children by force from their parents.  They weren't allowed to speak Indian at the school and physically punished for doing so.  Though the missionaries closed in 1930s, there is still quite a large population of Catholics on the reservation. 

After dinner we got to take a look at the church on the Christian Brothers' ranch.  It was small, and beautiful, with stained glass windows, wooden pews, and paintings of the stations of the cross.  We also saw the rubble from the original church and a lovely view of Two Medicine River.  Overall it was a really nice day and I was glad to talk with new people and to keep learning so many new things about life on the reservation. 

Marie Heffernan

Blog From The Rez

By Linda Walker
Today is primary election day here on the Blackfeet Reservation, which initiates a change in the make up of the tribal council in November.  One hundred candidates are competing for four positions on the council.  The voting poll workers who staffed the voting here in the Head Start Building where we are staying began to arrive well before 7 AM.  I know it was early because I was dragging myself to the shower after having had a wonderful experience at the Sweat Lodge last night.

As we were eating breakfast, we watched the Queen of England's Diamond Jubilee on televisioin.  Tremendous pagentry.

 My first gig of the day was to transplant veggies into other containers at the greenhouse.  However, I couldn't perform that task because the door was locked and no one was "home" in the "dome" except for the gophers in the field who were playing tag in and out of their gopher holes.  Never fear, I finally got to work in the Medicene Spring library on the BCC campus, where we washed chairs. My co-volunteer, Miriam, came along later to work with us.  Once we completed that job, we left and went to do other work.  I finally did get to transplant the veggies, and later I toured the Museum of the Plains Indians, where I saw some truly lovely examples of clothing made with porcupine needles, feathers, animal hides and beads.

After a great dinner of pork, cabbage, baked beans, tuna salad and bread, we were treated to a talk by Joe Bremner, a local Blackfeet businessman and BCC instructor. Joe spoke eloquently about Blackfeet people, medicene bundles and many artifacts sacred to the Blackfeet, and issues facing their Nation.  Then, to my surprise, he played two different flutes for us.  One song he played was "Amazing Grace."  Oh so lovely!

Later, some of us went to the casine to ply bingo, but we got there too late, and the man at the front door of the game room tried to explain the rules and costs to us.  So complicated!  Whatever happened to good old fashioned plain B-I-N-G-O?  We decided to just play the slots while we waited for Michele to pick us up in the van.  We weren't winners.  All that was left of Miriam's two dollars was a 9-cent cash-out ticket which she eagerly cashed in.  We went home to bed.

June 4th, 2012 Browning, Montana, The Blackfeet Reservation (Miriam)

The Blackfeet Community College

After breakfast and a group meeting, we headed over to Blackfeet Community College (BCC) to meet with members of the community who wanted to request our assistance. These people included Smokey Henrickson (the buildings manager), Wilbert Fish (in charge of the geodome/greenhouse and Blackfeet herbology), Rachel and Kelley from Americorps, Sherri Breneman-Kipp (in charge of the Blackfeet Academy), and others. I ended up volunteering to help Michael Framboise with putting together a Blackfeet language learning program, while others ended up doing gardening or maintenance work around the town and at BCC.

We were treated to a tour of BCC by Bob Tailfeathers, the Dean of Students, who also showed us some of his beautiful artwork and quillwork jewelry. We got to see the state-of-the-art, 'green' science and math building which ran on solar energy and is one of five such buildings in the state. After lunch, I returned to BCC to assist Mike. He had me compile a collection of images to accompany the Blackfeet language learning program. This included files of photos of foods, objects, animals, numbers, and other commonly used words.

A traditional Blackfeet Sweat Lodge

At about 5:00, we were getting ready to go to Heart Butte to Tom Crawford's house for the traditional Indian sweat ceremony, putting on our long skirts and getting our towels and water. The drive there was a bit of an adventure as we mistakenly drove past Heart Butte (it was quite small and we were in conversation) and got somewhat lost. We eventually got there after a few more wrong turns. To give a little background, Tom Crawford began doing sweat ceremonies weekly 20 years ago when his granddaughter was born severely handicapped and given a short life expectancy. They have done it since then, in rain or shine, each Monday, and she has survived longer and longer past that expectancy. The sweat ceremony is a time of prayer and fellowship. Participants sit in a small enclosed lodge with a pit in the middle in which hot stones are placed and steam is created. The idea is that one endures and suffers through the heat and sweat in exchange for the healing of one's loved ones. We first went through the tobacco ceremony and requested prayer for various people in our lives. Then they brought in the hot rocks (19 to begin with), closed up the door so we sat in complete darkness, and we began to sing. Each song was 1 verse repeated 4 times and we began with a 4 song round and then moved onto the healing rounds which consisted of 2 songs. Between each round, the door was opened and we all scrambled out into the cool evening. The contrast in temperatures was invigorating and intense, while the ceremony itself was a very hopeful and meaningful experience. Tom and his family and friends were infinitely welcoming and kind, which was touching as we were both strangers and non-natives. After the ceremony, Tom and his family invited us in for dinner and we played around with his grandchildren and had cake. We left quite late, but the ride home was beautiful--complete with lightning flashing across the sky and a full moon!

Learning About Blackfeet Country

Sunday, June 3

By: Aly Nielson

Today was the first full day on the Blackfeet Reservation. What a day! Slowly, we all began to wake up and make our way to the lounge for breakfast, where there was cereal, toast, and coffee. Yum. J We listened to Michele talk a little bit more about Browning. Then, we all got ready for the day and met together for a meeting in the…meeting room. At this point, we finally introduced ourselves officially. Our group consists of Linda from Pennsylvania, Barry from Maryland, Marie from New York, Miriam from Connecticut (although she goes to school with Marie in New York), Aly from Utah, Kelsey from Washington (although she goes to school at the University of Montana), Lucia from England, and of course, our fabulous team leader, Michele. J

After introducing ourselves, we participated in a couple team building activities. First, we listed what we all thought were 19 characteristics of an effective team. Then, we individually wrote down three goals we had for this week and we shared them with each other. We found that many of us had similar goals. Interesting, but at the same time, kind of expected. After the team building, we went over some of the rules, as well as, the policies and guidelines. Then Michele gave us a list of activities we could do in our free time.

By the time we were finished, Joe Gessepe, a local man who works at BCC and helps with the teams,  showed up at Head Start. While Michele and Linda went to the store to get food for lunch, the rest of us stood around listening to Joe tell us stories. The storytelling and conversations continued over a lunch of sandwiches, apples, chips, pretzels, and cookies. When lunch was over, we all piled into the van and headed of on an adventure (tour) of the northern part of the reservation. Throughout the whole tour, we listened to Joe and Michele tell us some background and history of the reservation. It was quite interesting.

The first thing we did was head north toward Duck Lake. Michele said it was the northern most road you can go on the U.S. side of the reservation. We saw Chief Mountain in the distance, which is consider a place of power/spiritual place. We pulled to the side of the road to take pictures. Next, we saw Lower St. Mary Lake and then headed toward Babb (they apparently call themselves Babylonians). Then we came to Sherbert Lake (on the reservation side, of course. We weren’t allowed to go into Glacier National Park). We saw a moose. J Michele pointed out several other mountains along our way to Upper St. Mary Lake. We even got to see the profile of St. Mary on one of the mountains, which is where St. Mary got its name. Unfortunately, at this point Joe told us a story about a terrible fire a few years ago that start in Glacier National Park and came over to the reservation. We saw miles of trees that were affected by this. He also pointed out the dam that broke causing a huge flood in 1964. At this point, many of us seemed quite tired. Michele pulled over and we went for a lovely little stroll. It was beautiful, and it seemed to wake us up a bit because when we got in the van, there was definitely more talking/conversations.

Now that our adventure was over, we headed back to Head Start where we met Candy LaMott, who made use a delicious dinner of chicken and vegetables. We also had watermelon and salad. Once we all had our fill, we watched a movie about Global Volunteers and then one about the history of the Blackfeet Indians. It was quite interesting to watch and learn more about the Blackfeet. Afterward, we decided to go on a quick stroll around town, which turned out to be quite a nice end of the day activity.

When we returned to Head Start, the team members all went their own ways. Some went off to bed. Others decided to eat more food. And some even started to watch Casper. Whatever it was we did, most of us wondered what tomorrow will bring.

Montana Team #85 - Blackfeet Reservation

June 2nd, 2012
4:30 pm
Browning, Montana

The land of the Plains Indians around Browning, MT

Miriam and I just arrived in Browning, Montana with two other volunteers, Lucia and Linda, and our team leader Michele.  The others are arriving by car and train.  The town is small, and the population is basically unknown (or at least somewhat disputed over). Most people estimate there are 1,200 residents in the Browning area.

We are staying at Head Start, in a small school/daycare building.  It looks like we should have a nice comfortable stay here, as we each have a twin bed and share the classroom and its bathroom.  Earlier when Michele had picked us up from the airport in Great Falls and drove us to Browning, the trip was just impeccable. The scenery of vast open plains with blue skies above filled with cotton like white clouds could just take your breath away.  Trees were far and few between, something I had not expected, living in upstate NY with the majority of open land being filled with trees.  The Rocky mountains off in the distance were enormous snow capped visions of beauty.  A mixture of fog and clouds surrounded the tips of them.  It was a gorgeous contrast to the open plains and blue sky.
Marie Heffernan