The June air has a
sharp chill. Dynamite blasts the higher mountain passes to clear hard-clogged
snow,
packed over 10 feet deep. This is Blackfeet Country.
Wild huckleberries
find their way into everything from shampoo to cream soda and ice cream... to
beer and flapjacks.
Unlike the People
of the Southwest, where the Navajo and the Pueblo people thrive in communities
and nations rich in ancient culture, the people of the high plains saw much of
their cultures shattered as a result of the Dawes Act (1887). That government
policy allotted property amongst nearly all comers. And the newcomers displaced
most of the Native people. Most of the towns and settlements today are
much like any other, anywhere in the United States. One exception is
Browning, Montana. While Browning still is much like any small U.S.
town, the Blackfeet culture clearly is evident.
Despite the Dawes
Act, the Blackfeet culture thrives...as do the cultures of their Salish
neighbors. The beat goes on.
Our images are
oversized, so that you can imagine the largeness of the Blackfeet world.
Click on any image to see what we mean.
