CULTURAL RESOURCES
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Little of the study area has been inventoried on the ground for archaeological remains. However, all three buttes are known to contain prehistoric stone features thought to be related to vision questing. "The peaks and high ridgelines on East, Gold and West Buttes, contain a series of stone structures. Many of these features are believed to be associated with vision questing or ritual activity, others may be associated with hunting or were used as trail markers" (SHPO, 1992).
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The unique geography of the hills made them an important source of a variety of sacred and medicinal plants, including sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata), otherwise not locally available on the extensive plains. |
The unique geology of the hills also made them important for the extraction of various mineral resources for Native Americans and later for white miners.
The Sweet Grass Hills vicinity is known to have been an important hunting area historically, particularly for buffalo. Early accounts report buffalo hunting parties of Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Plains Cree, Gros Ventre and others in the vicinity of the Sweet Grass Hills (SHPO, 1992). In August of 1874, Captain W.J. Twining who was a member of the international boundary survey party climbed one of the buttes and saw a buffalo herd moving south that was so great in size he could not see the end of it in either direction (Ewers, 1958).
The Sweet Grass Hills were part of the Indian Reservation common to several tribes that was created by the Treaty of 1855. The Sweet Grass Hills were included in the ceded area of the 1887 agreement which was ratified by Congress in 1888. The ceded lands were open to the public after May 1, 1888 (Foley, n.d.).
Historic use of the area during the last 100 years includes ranching, farming and mining as well as historic use by Native Americans for religious purposes such as gathering sacred materials and vision questing. Historic use of the area dating to this period is still evident on the landscape. Both the Middle and East Buttes have remnants of early mining. Placer mining on Gold Butte (Middle Butte) is known to have produced 1,400 fine ounces of gold and 90 fine ounces of silver (Hubbard, 1966). Some early gold production was evidently illicit. (See "Spirit of the Hills" project for further history of early gold mining) Indian Agent Young complained to his superiors in September 1885 that he had no luck removing the miners from the Sweet Grass Hills (Foley, n.d.) The Power Brothers of Fort Benton shipped $2,500 worth of gold from the Sweet Grass Hills in July 1887 (Foley, n.d.), although as noted earlier, the Sweet Grass Hills were part of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation until 1888 when the treaty was ratified by Congress. Coal production in the area dates to the 1890s (Hubbard, 1966). West Butte produced coal until World War II (McDermott, 1992).
There are traditions among several plains tribes about the Sweet Grass Hills (BLM, 1993b). These traditions relay events which occurred in the vicinity of the Sweet Grass Hills or in the Hills proper. The Sweet Grass Hills are remembered as an area important for hunting and camping as well as the area of numerous intertribal battles (SHPO, 1992).
There are also more specific references to the Sweet Grass Hills. In particular, the historic associations of the Devil's Chimney Cave among the Blackfeet, Assiniboine and Cree (BLM, 1989b). The Chippewa-Cree consider the Sweet Grass Hills and especially Devil's Chimney Cave historically important as well as sacred. According to their oral tradition, this is where the creator decided the future of the earth and of man. "The creator will return here at the end of the world and awaken the spirits of those who have left" (BLM, 1989b).
East Butte John
Smart Photo
Chief Broken Arm, signatory to the Stevens Treaty of 1855, vision quested at the Cave as did the legendary Chief Big Bear. Big Bear received a vision instructing him to make the "Chief's Son's Hand" medicine bundle. This medicine bundle is believed to be the one referred to in David Mandlebaum's "The Plains Cree," and now at the American Museum of Natural History (BLM, 1989b).
Middle (Gold) Butte
Bull Lodge of the Gros Ventre (Atsina) vision quested on Middle Butte and West Butte (Hartmann, 1955). Among the Blackfeet, the legendary figure Scarface received power from a mountain spirit on East Butte. Calf Tail and Mountain Chief received visions on the Middle Butte (SHPO, 1992).
West Butte
John Smart Photo
The Montana SHPO developed a draft National Register nomination for the Sweet Grass Hills as a historic district in 1992 though the draft nomination was never finalized nor were formal boundaries ever established. However, the BLM has determined that the Sweet Grass Hills are eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and the SHPO has concurred in that determination (SHPO, 1995).
The Sweet Grass Hills have been identified by Native American traditionalists as an important location for traditional religious practices (BLM, 1987). Concern has been expressed about disruption of traditional practices in the Sweet Grass Hills resulting from visual and audible intrusions to the natural environment. The concerns were expressed to the BLM in the context of environmental review of proposed mineral explorations on East Butte (BLM, 1986b and 1989b).
Representatives of the Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Chippewa-Cree, Gros Ventre (Atsina), Kootenai, and Salish have all expressed concern about preserving the sacredness of the Sweet Grass Hills. These concerns have been expressed both at the individual level and by tribal governments (BLM, 1986b and 1989b).
In traditional Plains Indian Culture, spiritual life is integral to daily life. Fasting and vision questing are important elements of this spirituality. Vision questing is practiced by all of the groups known to have ranged into the Sweet Grass Hills. A vision quest involves an individual petitioning supernatural powers for aid. It is commonly done in isolation from the community for a period of time, while fasting, praying and making offerings (Deaver, 1986). Fasting, vision questing and other forms of traditional worship require certain conditions to be successful. Fasting and vision questing require isolation from audible and visual interferences or disturbances. According to an Assiniboine elder, "The fasting must be carried on alone and in a quiet, isolated area with no unnatural distractions" (BLM, 1990).
The Blackfeet believe in an animate universe that contains powers which may be petitioned by man (Deaver, 1986). Their cosmology is based on a three-tiered conception of the world: Above Persons, Ground Persons, and Underwater Persons. One of the Above Persons, Napi, is responsible for creating the major physical features of the Blackfeet world. During creation he lays down to rest and these resting places are called Napi figures. The Sweet Grass Hills are such a feature (Deaver, 1986).
These classes of supernatural beings include some with human form and some with animal form. These supernatural beings have powers which they can transfer to men if they choose to do so. These powers may be sought deliberately or may simply come when a man is alone. The powers come through dreams in which the supernatural being visits and instructs the individual (Deaver, 1986).
Dreams of power normally came to a young man who actively sought supernatural aid (Ewers, 1958). This was done by going to an isolated spot some distance from camp, alone and on foot. The young man fasted and prayed to the powers. The spirit appeared to him and showed him certain sacred objects and how to make and care for them. After returning home, the young man made the articles according to the instructions received from the spirit. These items comprised the contents of his personal medicine bundle. Although not the power itself, these were important symbols of the power. Unless the possessor formally transferred the power of the bundle, he retained it until death (Ewers, 1958).
Some medicine bundles came to be more highly respected than others. If a man prospered and had great success as a warrior or the wealth of many horses, his power was considered unusually potent and that he could transfer that power (Ewers, 1958). According to Blackfoot elder John (Buster) Yellow Kidney, many of the medicine bundles still in use came from the Sweet Grass Hills (Blackfeet Encampment, September 24, 1993).
Mike Swims Under, a Blackfoot elder, was told by his father that the Sweet Grass Hills were sacred and must be preserved. According to him they are considered the most important place to get sweetgrass and sweetpine for ceremonies as they are the most powerful sweetgrass and sweetpine. He also reports fasting in the Sweet Grass Hills saying "...people fasted there for power to get a good living and good luck" (BLM, 1986b).
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The Chippewa-Cree tribe is composed of Plains Cree, Plains Ojibiwa, and Metis who joined together as a political entity when trying to find a place to live (Deaver, 1986). |
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The worldview of the traditional Plains Cree and Plains Ojibiwa included the concept of the Manito, a supernatural force that pervades the natural world, within a four-tiered universe. Each tier is more beautiful than the lower one. The highest tier is the home of the Great Manito, sometimes regarded as the creator. Sweetgrass Man is on this level and is sometimes depicted as the leader of all other Manitos (Deaver, 1986).
A value common to many Native Americans is the "spiritual" quality of land. According to Deaver (Deaver, 1986), "Disrespectful manipulation of the earth in this worldview is seen as desecration." In the traditional view such desecration could result in serious consequences. This concern was expressed by the late Art Raining Bird in connection with past mineral exploration on East Butte:
"No one ever thought they'd be excavating there. Its as if they're going to take down the shrine meant for the Native Americans. I don't agree with that. If that ever happens, unexplainable things will begin to happen (BLM, 1986b)."
Past hardrock mineral exploration in the Tootsie Creek area of East Butte was formally opposed by the Blackfeet and the Chippewa-Cree. In 1986, the Blackfeet Tribe appealed BLM's decision to approve mineral exploration by Santa Fe Pacific Mining. In 1989 the Chippewa-Cree appealed BLM's decision to approve mineral exploration by Cominco American Resources. A stay was not granted in either case and the exploration occurred. In spite of these past disturbances, Native American groups maintain that the area is still sacred and must be protected from further environmental change (BLM, 1995).
Prior to the 1986 and 1989 exploration projects, a field meeting was held. In these field meetings, both the Chippewa-Cree and the Blackfeet emphasized the significance of Devil's Chimney Cave and the need to protect it from physical and spiritual intrusion (BLM, 1993a). In addition to the cave, Tootsie Creek and the springs that feed it, Mount Brown, Mount Royal, and areas of traditional paint gathering in front of the cave were identified as concerns by the Original Chippewa-Cree in this area (BLM, 1986b). The Tootsie Creek basin therefore appears to contain a concentration of traditionally important areas.
Today, the Chippewa-Cree Tribe considers the Devil's Chimney Cave and the entire Sweet Grass Hills irreplaceable to group identity (BLM, 1989b). Even so, providing information on the importance of the Sweet Grass Hills places the Tribe in a dilemma between the need to protect their religious freedoms and traditionally required privacy and the need to provide information to protect this sacred place (BLM, 1989b).
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Protection is therefore not only an issue of physical protection to the place, but also an issue of preserving the sanctity of the traditions associated with the place. |
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Although the specific details of "why" the Sweet Grass Hills are spiritually important may be inappropriate for public discussion, the attributes which must be retained to preserve their spiritual qualities to Native American Traditionalists are suitable for discussion. Noise from vehicles or equipment is disruptive to spiritual practices (BLM, 1986b). Some ceremonies associated with the Tootsie Creek area require fresh running water nearby (BLM, 1989b). According to Chippewa-Cree traditions, the Tootsie Creek area contains "ores of healing quality" but they fear that mining would turn the waters bad and make the area a waste land (BLM, 1986b and 1989b). Physical disturbance to the land itself and visually intrusive modern constructions are both incompatible with these values. Consequently, the tribal government of Rocky Boy's Reservation has formally gone on record as opposing both mining claim entry and oil and gas leasing in the Sweet Grass Hills (BLM, 1995). Roads are visually intrusive and also have the potential to provide access to other disruptive activities. In summation, to protect the spiritual qualities of the Hills to Native American Traditionalists requires that the area be "protected from environmental change" (BLM, 1986b).
It is difficult to estimate the current Native American spiritual use of the Sweet Grass Hills numerically. As previously discussed, privacy is a critical element to traditionalists. The Hills retain the solitude and natural landcapes required for these practices. The Hills also provide plants and mineral resources needed for traditional spiritual practices. Both the Blackfeet and the Chippewa-Cree have expressed concern about traditional "paints" or "medicines" gathered on East Butte (BLM, 1986b and 1989b). According to tradition, all four paints necessary for the Sundance are collected on East Butte (BLM, 1989b).
