Blackfeet Indian Reservation

The Blackfeet Indian Reservation covers 1.5 million acres of some of the richest wildlife habitat on the Rocky Mountain Front and is an integral corner that connects wildlife on the Front to the rest of the Crown of the Continent ecosystem. It’s a beautiful mosaic of native grassland, prairie pothole lakes, wetlands and aspen parklands. Hugging the eastern slopes of Glacier National Park, the reservation is vital habitat for much of the park’s extraordinary wildlife. In addition to grizzlies, the land shelters a rich variety of other wildlife and bird species.

The reservation is also home to a distinct indigenous nation, the Blackfeet Nation. To the Blackfeet, or Amskapii Piikunni -- the southern band of the Blackfoot Confederacy, they originated in this beautiful environment and have evolved with the landscape for thousands of years. Today, the Blackfeet Nation is one of the ten largest federally recognized Native American Tribes in the United States.

History

Our history of working with the Blackfeet goes back nearly two decades. In the late 1990’s The Nature Conservancy in Montana began to examine the importance of the biology on the Reservation and to engage with the Blackfeet tribal council.  In 2000, this resulted in a collaboration with tribal members to create the Blackfeet Indian Land Trust (BILT) – the first Native American Land Trust in the nation.  The Conservancy subsequently purchased the Yellow Bird Woman Sanctuary in 2001 and transferred it to BILT in 2003.

In 2013, the Yellow Bird Woman Sanctuary was dedicated to its namesake, Eloise Cobell, a founding member of BILT and a former Montana Chapter Trustee. Cobell became a heroine for native people across the U.S.by waging a 15-year legal battle over the federal government’s mismanagement of billions of dollars in Indian trust lands – ultimately winning a settlement, in 2009, for $3.4 billion dollars.

In 2015, the Conservancy hired a new, full-time Land Protection Specialist, to live and work on the reservation. This commitment of staff and resources allows us to grow our relationships within the community, and take our partnership with the Blackfeet to a new level. It also allows us to identify conservation opportunities that are inclusive of community priorities and well-being.

Strategy and Goals

We are deeply committed to strengthening the Conservancy’s relationship with the Blackfeet and committed to creating enduring conservation outcomes. Working with the community on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation has been very rewarding. We have deliberately taken a respectful approach, founded in learning and listening, to help us better understand conservation challenges and opportunities from Blackfeet perspectives. These perspectives and input from the community will provide the foundation of a conservation plan that will focus our work where we can have the greatest impact.