Glacier National Park guide · 1 min read
Blackfeet, Salish and Kootenai Homelands
Glacier's Native America Speaks program puts visitors in front of members of the Blackfeet Nation and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, who speak from personal knowledge about their own history and culture.
The series started in 1982 and is billed as the longest-running series of Indigenous speakers anywhere in the National Park Service. A donation from the Glacier National Park Conservancy makes every program possible.
Presenters use more than one approach. A program might mix songs, stories and talks with hands-on learning, so you come away having taken part rather than only listened. Most programs happen in the evening and replace the usual ranger talks at campground amphitheaters and historic lodges in and around the park.
Beyond the evening talks, more cultural programs are held at sites scattered around Glacier and in communities on the Blackfeet Nation. To find out what is coming up, stop by a park visitor center or ask at a ranger station for the latest schedule. Most program locations have restrooms and drinking water.
The Blackfeet Indian Reservation lies directly east of Glacier, along the park's eastern boundary. It covers about 1.5 million acres, stretching from the mountains of western Montana onto the open plains of central Montana. That makes it one of the largest reservations in the United States. It is home to the Blackfeet Nation, with its headquarters in Browning.
Browning, Montana, makes a good day trip from the park. In town, the Museum of the Plains Indian offers a closer look at Blackfeet cultural heritage. If you want to stay longer, Blackfeet Nation campgrounds sit within a few miles of several of Glacier's eastern entrances.
