Want to learn more about the Blackfoot Indian reservation? Read on for facts and info on this specially assigned Indian reservation in Montana for the Blackfoot native Indian tribe…
Montana is home to a historical Native Indian tribe known as the Blackfoot Tribe. A dedicated space of the state has been assigned to this tribe and is known as the Blackfeet Indian reservation.
This massive Indian reservation is situated towards the east of the famous glacier national Park and has Canada at its northern borders. At the eastern and southern borders the Blackfoot Indian Reservation is bordered by the Birch Creek and the Cut Bank Creek.
The total area assigned under the reservation is about 1142 km². This makes it even larger than the entire state of Delaware.
The Reservation boasts a wide variety of elevations with the lowest of them starting at 3400 feet and the highest of them going up to 9066 feet. The highest point in the Blackfoot reservation is that Chief Mountain. Neighboring the chief Mountain is the Ninaki Mountain as well as the Papoose. When you travel to the eastern side of the reservation you will find the majority of the topography to be made up of open grassland hills. A beautiful narrow strip of spruce and fir forests is to be found towards the western edge of the reservation. Here you will be able to find many free ranging cattle grazing upon the vast expanses of grasslands.
The Indian Blackfoot reservation also has its fair share of waterways. The largest of these is the St. Mary’s River which is followed by the two medicine River, Birch Creek, Cut Bank Creek as well as the milk River. The reservation also houses about eight large sized lakes and a total of 175 miles of fresh water streams.
Blackfoot Community
The last official census recorded a total population of 10,100 people living on the Indian Blackfoot reservation. The area has a population density of 4.26 people on a per square mile basis.
Browning happens to be the central community of the reservation. It is home to the seat of the tribal government and hence has great significance for the entire region. The towns situated at the edge of the park are the most frequented places by tourists. This includes regions like St. Mary and the East glacier Park with its Amtrak Station situated close by along with the historical glacier Park Lodge
There are a number of other smaller communities inside the reservation. Foremost amongst them are Blackfoot, Star School, Glacier Homes, Babb, Seville, Kiowa And Heart Butt.
The Indian Blackfoot reservation hosts an annual festival known as the North American Indian days. This festival is a held on powwow grounds that have been set up near the Museum of the Plains Indian in the important community of Browning. The Cut Bank is another much frequented place by tourists although it does not fall within the reservation but is situated right outside its eastern edge.