People Before the Park: The Kootenai and Blackfeet before Glacier National Park

by Sally Thompson

Step out of a world governed by clocks and calendars and into the worldview of the Kootenai and Blackfeet peoples. For countless years, they made their seasonal rounds in the landscape that is now Glacier National Park. In People Before the Park, the Kootenai and Blackfeet tribes share their traditions—stories and legends, foodways and hunting techniques, games and spiritual beliefs. Readers will discover a new respect for the people who were at home in these mountains, all around the seasons.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Native American, Outdoors

220 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2014

About the author

Award-winnng author and anthropologist Sally Thompson received her Ph.D. at the Univ. of Colorado in 1980, the same year she moved to Missoula to start the archaeology program at Historical Research Associates. A decade later, she says, she began her real education. That was when she shifted her focus to working with Native communities as a consultant and collaborator.

She served as (1) Expert Witness for the Taos Pueblo Water Rights case; (2) Cultural Consultant to assess the cultural significance of the Badger-Two Medicine area in the traditional Blackfeet homeland; and (3) Expert Witness for the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes on the ARCO lawsuit regarding off-reservation treaty losses due to pollution of the Clark Fork River.

In 2001, she founded and directed the Regional Learning Project at UM focused on working with tribes to develop curriculum resources on history, geography and culture. During that decade, Sally interviewed over 200 elders from tribes all along the ancient trails that Lewis & Clark followed. When that program ended, she served as NAGPRA Coordinator for UM, with the humbling responsibility of repatriating human remains to the tribal communities of western Montana. She is currently working with State Parks and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall to improve interpretive information at Bannack State Park.

Sally directed a federally-funded a Teaching American History grant focused on teaching American History in the Northwest, with a viewpoint from the people and place, in addition to those better known perspectives of explorers, fur traders, missionaries, treaty-makers and pioneers.

Reviews

[Teresa Chabot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended by a friend as one of the most historically accurate books regarding the Native American People, I found it to be a fascinating read. This book took the reader into the lives and seasons of the indigenous people who made in north western Montana near Glacier National Park their home. For a better understanding of their lives, culture and their tie to the land, this book gives the reader an inside look from those who were the keepers of the tradition.

[S Sande · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book. The meaningful Native American legends and their reverence for places, rocks & formations of Glacier National Park and the lands that surround it adds to the wonder & beauty of the place. Makes me understand I need to love it more carefully.

[Christine Ayers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now that this is available, I hope it is required for all park staff. Such valuable information.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Sally Thompson was given the task of writing about the Native presence around Glacier National Park before it became a national park in 1910, she had two tasks: first,to examine the writings of pre-park explorers, and secondly, to talk to the tribes.

After much talk among the tribal members of the Blackfeet and the Kootenai nations, they agreed to help. In fact, this became a joint effort with the Kootenai Cultural Committee and the Pikunni Traditional Association to such a degree that Thompson insisted they be given joint authorship. The two tribal groups took on the goal of making this book be an accurate history for their grandchildren. Thompson recounts that often times, they would insist that a single specific word be changed in order to give a more accurate meaning of their accounts.

This book is the result. It gives the yearly cycles, myths and day to day activities of people who lived in the area for ten thousand years before it became a National Park. For example, what we now know as the Apgar Campground was known as The Place Where We Dance for literally thousands of generations of Kootenai.

This is beautifully illustrated with dozens of historical photos and drawings. It also has a bibliography and index.

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Glacier Park, American Indians, or an authentic and accurate history of the Kootenai and Blackfeet peoples.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A frequent visitor to Glacier National Park, I enjoyed learning the history of the tribes who lived freely on this land, and the spiritual connections they still have to it, though they have been sequestered to lands outside what is now the park. Having these stories written by members of the Kootenai and Blackfeet peoples themselves was key to this publication, and especially enriching. The next time I am there, I will think about the space in new ways, with gratitude for those who have stewarded the land.

[Kate Sitarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish there were more chapters from the Blackfeet and Kootenai, but overall a reminder that history is what we tell, and we need to keep retelling more stories before the history is lost or revised to eliminate key voices.

Read this before and during a visit to Glacier which helped give context to the place and a deeper appreciation for the landscape.

The writing from Thompson is super stilted but conveys the information that needs to be conveyed.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I'm glad I finally got around to it after having it on my list for a few years. Anyone thinking about going to Glacier NP needs to give this *at least* a glance, if not a full digestion. I really appreciated how the tribes involved had extensive control over the material and history presented.

[Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads a bit like a history book, but has stories and oral tradition of the Kootenai and Blackfeet people woven in to the book. Much of the book is about traditional life of these tribes, before they were relegated to reservations and land use restrictions. Definitely a well written history, with input from native communities to write the book.

[Abigail Roston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading for anyone entering/living around/thinking about glacier National park. Thompson, alongside the Kootenai Culture Committee and the Pikunni Traditional association, provide an intimate and important glimpse into indigenous life. Ultimately, this book offers a call to action to anyone invested in the future of our planet.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conscientious visitors and enthusiasts of Glacier National Park should invest the time to read this book and begin to understand the significance of this landscape for the Blackfeet and Kootenai people.

[David Hixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating description of the way of life before Europeans arrived.

[Anna Brandes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great introduction to some of the real history of Glacier NP and the indigenous people who call it home.

[Travis Rubio · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.6 - essential if you love glacier’s history