From before our first treaty in 1855 with the United States
Government to the present, our religion/culture (they are
inseparable) has been adversely affected by the policies of the
United States. With the passage of the American Indian Religious
Freedom Act of 1978, our people, along with other Indian tribes,
felt a sense of hope that our unique heritage could survive.
Since that time, notably in the last few years, a re-emergence of
our culture and religion has begun to take place. Our spiritual
people and tribal elders were, until recently, underground for
fear of continued persecution, are once again teaching and
helping our people. Our young people, taught shame of their race
and culture through assimilation tactics, are learning to be proud
of their heritage. Our old ways have returned and they are
healing our people.
Our religion is inseparably connected to the land. The
mountains especially hold a great significance. In our beliefs
"natural" and "spiritual" are one and the same. the mountains
are essential to our religion; they provide the solitude of a
pristine natural setting which enables our people to communicate
with the Creator. The re-emergence of our culture is beginning
to unify our people again. It is retrieving them from the grip
of alcohol and drug abuse. Even non-indian organization have
come to recognize the power of these mountains and are using them
as a place to treat adolescent substance abusers.
In our sacred legend, Na'pi (Old Man, the Creator) gave us
this land as our territory and warned us to protect it, but the
events of the late 1800's took a serious toll on our people, and
we were forced to relinquish some of our land. From 1892 to
1894, 4,500 of the 6,000 Blackfeet in Montana died of smallpox
and starvation. The following year, an the persistence of the US
Government, we leased the "rocky ridges" of the mountain land on
our reservation to the Government for fifty years. In the
resulting 1896 Agreement, our "lease" had become a sale, and we
lost the mountains. two-thirds of this land, known as the "ceded
strip" and covered by this Agreement, is presently the eastern
half of Glacier National Park. The remaining one-third is
128,000 acres of Forest Service land known as the Badger-two
Medicine.
As traditionalists, one of our highest concerns is for this
Badger-two Medicine area which borders our reservation, and is
located between Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall
Wilderness Complex. We consider this area to be the last
stronghold for the practice of our traditional religion.
throughout our history our people have been going to the
mountains of this area to fast, pray, and seek visions; to gather
wood, berries, and medicinal herbs; and to hunt and fish.
Although there are many aspects involved in the preservation and
rekindling of our traditional ways, they are all linked to the
preservation of our sacred Badger-Two Medicine Mountains.
The Badger-Two Medicine is now US Forest Service land, and
their Environmental Impact Statement calls for extensive
roadbuilding and development of this pristine roadless area for
oil and gas exploration. Their documented potential impacts
include: air, water, and noise pollution, wildlife disruption,
visual disturbances, exposure to deadly hydrogen sulfide gas, and
impacts on our traditional religious practices.
We have voiced our concerns time and again to the US Forest
Service, but by not being familiar with, or giving credibility to
our religion, they fail to understand our needs and the
destruction such activity would have on our culture. We have
appealed their plans on the ground that it violates our rights to
free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the American Indian
Religious Freedom Act and the First Amendment to the United
States Constitution. All of our claims have been systematically
denied.
The pro-development agenda set by the USFS continues despite
our expressed concerns. the Environmental Impact Statement
stated that there was a less than half of one percent chance of a
significant discovery of oil or gas in this area. Even if a
discovery was made with such unlikely odds, the EIS indicates
that there would only be enough oil to fuel the nation for
between one and fourteen hours of one day! The USFS and the oil
companies seem quite willing to sacrifice our culture and religion
for what amounts to a mere drop of oil.
Any disturbance in the Badger-Two Medicine is a desecration
of our sacred place and represents a serious threat to our
ability to practice our religion. The threat of destruction to
this area from the development agenda set forth by US Forest
Service, and their continued failure to acknowledge our concerns
as valid and legitimate, is literally a threat of cultural
genocide.
In 1973, the Blackfeet tribal Business Council, recognizing
the Badger's importance to our cultural heritage, declared the
entire area "Sacred Ground" by Tribal Resolution. We are
currently working with local non-Indian conservation
organizations, and have been shown an enormous amount of support
from the people of Montana, and throughout our the nation.,
Our main opponents art this time are the US Forest Service
and the large multi-national oil companies. We believe that they
view this area as a "test case" which could affect many other
areas and people. If Fina and Chevron are allowed to drill next
to a National Wilderness area and within two miles of the world
renowned Glacier National Park; in an area that is Situation 1
habitat for the threatened grizzly bear, and is currently
witnessing the return of the endangered gray wolf; in an are
subject to Indian Treaty right and held sacred to traditional
Blackfeet religion; and in an area that has received overwhelming
public support for preservation, then they will be able to drill
anywhere they please!
Our goal is the preservation of the area as a spiritual
wilderness and we need your support.
Pikuni Traditionalists Association
Box 611
Browning, MT 59417
(406) 338-5801
Via the Wild Rockies News Service.