During our second section of Conservation Across Boundaries, we left backpacking in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and exchanged our backcountry lifestyle for guest speakers, Traditional Knowledge, and visits to Glacier National Park. Our group stayed outside of Browning and East Glacier, Montana. The towns are part of the Blackfeet Nation Reservation. During our stay, we had the pleasure of learning about Blackfeet culture, history, and science from Alicia Yellow Owl, her son, Taos Yellow Owl, and Dr. Mike Bruised Head/Chief Bird.
This was my first time visiting Glacier and the Blackfeet Reservation. As we entered the area, we read Montana’s “Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians” that covered Indigenous history with Federal and state government. Along with that, we read several pieces of literature on Blackfeet and their role in the Crown of the Continent to help our section understand the space we were occupying on a deeper level.
For some quick history, part of the Blackfeet Confederacy reserved a portion of their traditional land for a reservation in the 1855 “Lame Bull Treaty.” In 1895, part of the reservation was ceded to the Federal government for the creation of Glacier National Park in 1910. In most cases, these treaties appeared consensual but often were not.
According to author Mark David Spence, the mountains in Glacier held sacred spiritual ground to the Blackfeet people. During certain times in U.S. policy, Indigenous groups like the Blackfeet were prohibited from practicing traditional ceremonies as a form of assimilation to Western culture. The mountains became a space for practicing cultural heritage without the eyes of the Federal government. That said, I entered the Glacier and Browning area with this context. I had visited other National Parks before. I even loved them so much, I wanted to be a Park Ranger as a kid. Yet, I felt guilty this time. Knowing Glacier’s history, as well as a more in-depth look at Federal acts against Indigenous groups, it felt wrong.
Our first visit was at the Glacier Two Medicine entrance. Aside from the small “Native Speaks” poster on an event board for July, the park entrance lacked any recognition of the tribes that used Glacier (Kootenai, Salish, Pend D’Orielles, and Blackfeet.) Inside, the gift shop was filled with Glacier paraphernalia – from stickers to National Parks Monopoly. This was a business. The few Indigenous items were no more than unmarked paintings, as if to add to the attraction of the park.
Leaving the store and heading onto the trail, I did not want to be there. The lake, mountains, and various flora were beautiful, but it all felt wrong. On our hike, we came across a moose. About twenty visitors stopped to catch a glimpse at it moved across the pond. I can imagine it was exciting to those who had never seen a moose before. At the same time, I couldn’t help but think of how invasive the experience was for the moose. The park became one big American amusement show. At the St. Mary’s entrance later that week, there was more representation of the Kootenai, Salish, Pend D’Orielles, and Blackfeet through various exhibits and signs. I was glad to see some recognition, but it still gave me the feeling of another tourist attraction.
Though this is quite critical of Glacier National Park, I do not condemn National Parks. Despite the unfair or unethical creation of Glacier, the area promotes the conservation of important vertebrates. This includes wolves, bears, and moose, along with a diverse array of plants like beargrass, alpine paint brush, and the well-loved huckleberry. I also do not believe the present status of Glacier has to be its future. At the time when most universities give land acknowledgements to various Indigenous groups’ land that their institutions sit upon, parks should be no different.
Beyond acknowledgement, Glacier deserves management inclusion with Indigenous leaders like the Blackfeet. As of now, the park acts as a continuation of colonization through its lack of acknowledgement. The stark contrast between the low-income communities in Browning and the various wealthy visitors of Glacier (along with overpriced gift shops) is a reminder of the continued power difference between Indigenous groups and the U.S. as an entity.
Glacier is not the only park created through the displacement of Indigenous groups. Yellowstone, according to the National Park Service, had over twenty-seven tribes tied to its land, and continued negation of Indigenous use during its formation. As a visitor or employee, National Parks are far more than a place to experience wildlife or picturesque “wilderness.” They are keepers of human culture and heritage. The privilege of getting to know Glacier through reading, Blackfeet voices, and my own experience creates a yearning for more than what it currently stands as.
It is my hope that National Parks are managed by the groups originally there. As a non-Indigenous person, I want to enter a park that honors not only the rich biodiversity of the area, but also includes the voices that were and are still on the land.