Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ture. Before trappers and settlers came west, Indian people roamed freely across the land,
following the huge buffalo herds that once covered the plains. Each tribe has unique cus-
toms and traditions. While Native Americans have worked to adapt to the changing world
around them, they have tried to keep the culture and traditions of their past alive. Their cul-
ture is celebrated through dance, songs, games, language, and religious ceremonies. This
rich heritage contributes to the distinct flavor of Montana and Wyoming.
There are several museums in each state that pay tribute to the American Indian, and
many reservation towns host annual powwows, rodeos, and celebrations. Today, 6.5 percent
of Montana's population and nearly 3 percent of Wyoming's is classified as Native Amer-
ican.
There are 11 different tribes represented in Montana, the majority living on seven differ-
ent reservations. There is only one reservation in Wyoming, which is home to two different
tribes. The following is a list of the Native American groups and the reservations that they
inhabit today.
Blackfeet
The 1.5-million-acre Blackfeet Reservation is in northwestern Montana along the eastern
slopes of the Rocky Mountains, bordered on the north by Canada and on the west by Glacier
National Park. More than 15,500 members make up the tribe, with about 7,000 living on or
near the reservation. The Blackfeet are thought to have acquired their name from the char-
acteristic black color of their moccasins, painted or darkened with ashes, and once inhab-
ited land near the Great Lakes before they migrated west. During this migration, the various
tribes of the Blackfeet joined together to form the Blackfeet Confederacy, made up of the
Piegans, the Bloods, and the Northern Blackfeet. Soon they became one of the largest and
most feared Indian tribes, and were great hunters of the buffalo that roamed the northern
plains. The Blackfeet were notoriously leery of the settlers moving into their territory.
