After breakfast and packing our lunches, Ally went to Eagle Shield to help prepare meals for elders and later returned to continue work at the BCC library. Leah, Ally2, Tee and Hannah went to East Glacier to work with kids at the Boys and Girls Club health fair, but when no kids showed up, they returned to the care center where they were able to finish painting by lunch time. Then, they went to the Boys and Girls Club in Browning where they helped kids learn how to make stir fry, draw and cut out flowers, and play outside -- which included countless piggyback and shoulder rides.

The rest of the group was busy at the Blackfeet Academy experiential garden and the community garden and greenhouse shoveling dirt, and creating the foundation of the planing bed. Molly and Jessica planted carrots and onions, and did some cleaning. Since the walk between the two gardens on the BCC campus was so short, the two groups connected for lunch at the greenhouse and continued to work together, cleaning out the hundeds of small containers that once held carrot seedlings.

Michele picked us up around 4PM so we could clean up before we left for a picnic dinner at Brother Ray's house. Before heading out, we visited the Museum of the Plains Indians and the art gallery across the street. They were both very intriguing and showed immense detailed aspects of the life for the Plains Indians. Many of the artifacts were similar to some of the ones we got to hold the other night in our presentation with Marty Martin, which was very special.

Once we arrived at Brother Ray and Brother Pauls' houses, we set off for the buffalo jump, which was a very historical and sacred site for the Blackfeet. We learned that before horses were brought to America by the Spaniards, the Blackfeet had fewer ways of capturing and killing buffalo. At this site, they would drive buffalo over the cliff, where all were wounded or killed.

At the barbeque, we feasted on hamburgers, hot dogs, pork chops and baked beans among many other items. As were were eating, we settled down in the living room to watch the fascinating documentary on the Blackfeet. It was really neat to see and hear about places we already knew. After the movie, we returned to DLSBS for the night.

Medicine Spring Library Work Project

Arriving at the library today, I found they had received a large donation of 15 boxes of books -- some in better shape than others. Ginny started reviewing them, deciding which ones to keep, checking the catalouge to make sure there were no duplicates.

At 1PM, we held the events we had been planning all week....a Books for Babies session for ages 0-2, card making for ages 3-12, and a discussion group on Native Americans in fantasy for teens and adults, which I led. Although the turn out was low, it seemed to go well...the kids made some great cards, and I really enjoyed talking to Shirley (who didn't like vampire stories) and Janis (who loved them).
-Ally Nuttall

Ned, Maia and Sam went to the Academy to finish the garden with Charles, and planted flowers. Meanwhile, the rest of the team helped prepare and serve meals at the Blackfeet Tribe staff appreciation picnic. When we had finished cutting tomatoes and onions, cooking burgers, hot dogs and chicken, and setting up the rest of the lunch, we danced to the groovy tunes the DJ practiced as we unloaded chairs and opened more packages.

After serving and eating lunch, we lay in the sun and watched as the large assortment of prizes were given away. We helped clean up and were given fold-up chairs in appreciation of our service. We finished our assignment around 3:30.

This evening, we hiked scenic point...beautiful and above the tree line a majority of the time, providing continuous views of the surrounding mountains. The hike was steep and the winds were so high that at many points, we ahd to duck down close to the slightly sheltered path. It took us a little over three hours in total, and we were very happy and refreshed as we drove back for a late dinner of beef stew and root bear floats.

Settling into a Daily Routine

Today our team split up into four work groups. Ally worked at the Blackfeet Community College library, where she continued cataloguing and helping the librarian with whatever she needed. Hannah, Tee, Sam and Leah went to the Care Center to continue scraping and painting the outside walls and assembling picnic tables for the residents. As they painted a fresh layer of paint onto the office walls, they painted themselves in the process! They also got to interact with more local workers than they did the day before.

The third group started as two separate groups, and joined after lunch. Ned and Maia worked with Charles at the Blackfeet Academy shoveling and raking dirt for the new garden along with getting to know Charles better. After lunch, they joined Jessica and Molly at the community garden and greenhouse where they planted carrots, zucchini, beets, peas, swiss chard and summer squash with a local crew. They also watered and fertilized the vegetables. Shirley Wippert, one of the local workers, showed us how to keep animals way from the freshly planted veggies by lining the side of the garden with clear water bottles. We also planted onions at the end of every row, which drove the small animals away because of their strong smell -- too overwhelming for them. We worked with Shirley, Crystal, another woman and her two young sons.

As we worked in the sun for the for the better part of six hours, we got to learn more about their culture, and they were eager to hear about our time on the reservation and our collge plans for next year. There were long periods where no one would speak, but the silence was equally as comforting as the friendly conversations.

The wind blew for most of the day, and we listened to the gentle hum of the wind turbine that powered the office behind us. The hot sun reminded us how Sam Aimsback from the rodeo grounds told us yesterday that the rainbow around the setting sun meant either a very cold day or very hot day ahead. His words proved to be true as the sun continued to beat on us for the remainder of the afternoon...making this the warmest day since we got here.
-Jennifer

Learning the Legends of Blackfeet Country

Last night, Marty Martin - a Blackfeet elder - came to speak to us about his culture. It was exremely interesting as well as informative. Marty told us stories and shared many of his experiences with us and explained "the way of the Indian," helping us to understand why some things on the reservation are the way they are.

One important thing he shared was the importance of giving back to Mother Earth. He told us we should show our appreciation of her and everything she provides us. To do so, we must never completely finish a meal, and bury the remains in the ground. This is a way to show one's appreciation for Nature. Another thing we talked about was Marty's experience teaching at Browning High School, and his interactions with the resrvation youth. Although there are many pressing issues, such as teen pregnancy and drug and alcohol abuse, he told us about all the good things that happen here, too. There are many good atheletes and artists, as well as intellectuals.

He shared with us a heartwarming story of a boy he knew who became a writer. While telling the story, he became emotional -- which only helped me to understand the true passion and love he has for the youth on the reservation.

My knowledge of Indian culture tripled tonight when Marty showed us tons of amazing Blackfeet artifacts. Each thing had an amazing story to go with it. We tried on beautiful headdresses and held old robes that had been given to him. As we passed these things around and listened to him, I couldn't help but realize how different our cultures are. However, this culture is different in a way that makes me eager to hear more. The ways of the Blackfeet people is fascinating and because it is so different from my own culture, it draws me in. I can't wait to learn more by meeting more interesting people!
-Leah

Getting to Know You

Today was the first day of work, and everyone was excited to begin. After breakfast, we went to the community college for a meeting with community leaders who will be directing our work. After getting our assignments, we toured the college, and I was very impressed by the amount of resources the school had! My favorite part was the ceremonial room. It was so unique to the school and I loved how it drew the local culture into their college education.

After the tour, we set out on our variety of jobs for the day. Some people went to the rodeo grounds to fix a fence, pick up rocks, and weed and mow the grounds. Others went to the Boys and Girls Club to help with activities, and did arts and crafts with young children.

A couple groups gardened at different places, from moving piles of dirt to setting up beds to be planted. The last group spent their day scraping old paint from the administrative building of the Blackfeet Care Center.

The work was very rewarding for us, but the most rewarding parts of the day were all of the conversations we had with local people. We learned about the hardships, the joys and the daily lives of the people here. I look forward to more days of hard work and plenty of wonderful conversations.
-Molly Snell and Leah McCabe

Reflections on a Sundance

The Sundance on Saturday night stretched our intellects as we literally stepped onto unchartered territory of our own. The Yellow Kidney family was incredibly hospitable and a few members took us under their wing, ushering us into the sacred space and fave us key pointers on appropriate behavior. But still our minds were stretching to try to understand their customs and philosophy as well as the meaning of their action during the Sundance. But, on a more intuitive level, our hearts felt more at home -- more comfortable with the idea of looking up at the center pole wrapped in people's prayer banners which people had been carrying all year. All this to pray to the Creator Spirit, to sing and dance our prayers all the way to God.
-Ally Lent