Hello all,
It was great to read your posts. You all seem to know a great deal about the park. I really hope that this club and the trip in June will give Glacier a new look for you. For this week please view the DVD and book companion for "Days of the Blackfeet" by Carol Murray. I am planning for you all to meet Murray in June. Please post any questions you would have for him, list any ah ha's, and how it makes you look at Glacier now?
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I thought the video and book companion “Days of the Blackfeet” was very educational and well done. Of course it was really sad to see how our government took advantage of the Blackfeet people. Seeing their lands shrink throughout the 1800’s with the final taking (although it sounded like a 99 year lease) in 1895 of Glacier Park has made me look at the Park differently. I would ask Ms. Murray questions about that final loss of the Glacier Park lands and how her tribe viewed that along with tribal stories of how her people utilized those lands. My ah ha moments were how dogs were so important in their huge task of moving camps before horses were reintroduced, the qualities of their leaders: knowledge, generosity, compassion, and integrity (along with a willingness to help and advise their people) and how bad disease (smallpox) affected the tribe. I just spoke to my mother about our family interactions with Native Americans of the area and it reinforced how important oral traditions are to Native Americans. I was surprised at some of her stories and am glad that my family helped feed some Blackfeet and Nez Peirce Indians back then(early 1900’s) and how they paid my family back when they could. This naturally brought up many other questions I have for Ms. Murray and I am very excited to hear her perspective of how some of these close interactions of common folk took place.
ReplyDeleteIt is my understanding that when the Blackfeet people succumbed to the 1896 agreement, or which ever agreement for land cessions to the United States government, they did not reliquish any claims to resource utilization. The tribe supposedly reserved rights within the ceded strip of East Glacier Park. If this was part of the agreement, are the Blackfeet tribal members allowed to hunt and gather within the park boundaries?
ReplyDeleteDays of the Blackfeet was not what I expected. There were many themes repeated throughout the book. The book covered the time periods that every tribe lived through. The take on history was very troubling for me, I cannot imagine going through what was asked of the Blackfeet. I tried to think about what the Blackfeet had gone through in years past, I do not know many people who could live in the conditions that this group of people was asked to. There were many points in the book where I stop to take a break.
ReplyDeleteI found some great information about the development of rock formations which would be a wonderful addition to a science unit that I currently teach. I would like to learn more about the oral stories that teach about the rock cycle and how many land formations were made for science. It would bring a rich piece of history to the science. I loved the story about Chief Mountain. I have worked with Chief Mountain hotshots in years past, but did not understand the significance of the name. It is amazing how strong that hotshot crew is and continues to be.
I also enjoyed the fact that this book included the Blackfeet perspective of Lewis and Clark. This would be great to add to the 4th grade and 7th grade history classes. This perspective really showed how one’s perspective is one-sided. The expedition really affected the Blackfeet in the short encounter they shared.
The Massacre in 1870 is a story that has been silenced in the history books. I had not made the connection of Massacre on the Marias with the Blackfeet. Dottie Susag had spoken of this event so many times when visiting our school. She talked about the event and taking her students to the site. Any massacre on any people is sad and heartbreaking and it happen many times in the history of the West.
The story of the Blackfeet after the encounter of the white many was a tragedy. These strong people held on for so long and endured so much. The tribe has worked hard to rebuild their culture, traditions and life after the white man tried so hard to destroy. The Blackfeet are a strong tribe like the other tribes of Montana.
Having major trouble with G-mail. I've tried 4 times to add to this blog. Different problem every time. Google is a bad hat.
ReplyDeleteNow it works? You have got to be KIDDING me!
ReplyDeleteAll frustration aside, I wanted to echo Kim's responses to the material. The Blackfeet have faced unimaginable difficulty due to dealings with the U.S. government. For contemporary society, I hope we are finally able to mitigate the moral ambiguity of some of America's most endearing figures. The Blackfeet encounter with Lewis and Clark from the Native perspective is a story that needs to be shared. I am looking forward to meeting the author of our book club book. How many people can say that? Looking forward to the trip--I crave a bit of truth and beauty. It has been quite a school year.