Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Office

10/13/2026

Blackfeet THPO would like to wish a huge congratulations to our traditional cultural specialist TCS- Seth Fenner on qualifying for the INFR bull riding! Ride up and bring home some metal. We are backing you every step of the way!

10/12/2026

Indigenous day is not just a honoring of the past, but a commitment to the present. Acknowledging the land we stand on and celebrating the vibrant cultures of native peoples across the globe.

10/05/2026

Hands Across the Border September 24, 2026
On September 24th, the Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Office was honored to represent the Blackfeet Nation at the historic Hands Across the Border gathering, an event that had not taken place in approximately 15 years.
The gathering brought together like-minded people, Tribes, organizations, and conservation partners with a shared goal: protecting and conserving the lands, waters, wildlife, and cultural landscapes that connect all of us.
THPO stressed that although an international border now separates these lands and our people, we do not view that border as a barrier. The land, water, wildlife, culture, and responsibilities we share existed long before that boundary. We want to see conservation efforts succeed on both sides of the border because the health of these landscapes is interconnected.
As Blackfoot people, our connection to the land, water, plants, and animals has been taught and carried forward through our history, ceremonies, oral traditions, and generations of knowledge. These relationships are at the heart of why we strive so fiercely to protect the land today, just as our ancestors did before us. Conservation is not a new idea to our peopleit is a responsibility that has been passed from generation to generation.
We also took time to acknowledge our relatives and Tribes north of the border. In their absence, we proudly stood in their place and recognized the relationships that continue to connect Blackfoot people across the international boundary.
A major focus of Blackfeet THPO continues to be the protection of the Chief Mountain Unit and the larger cultural landscape surrounding Ninastako. THPO has worked with numerous Tribal and non-Tribal entities to help keep this sacred landscape as pristine as possible while protecting its cultural resources, water, plants, wildlife, and the relationships Blackfeet people have maintained with this place since time immemorial.
Gatherings like Hands Across the Border remind us why partnerships matter. A border may separate jurisdictions, but it does not separate the land, the water, the animals, our history, or our responsibility to care for them.
We are grateful to Y2Y, Nature Conservancy and everyone who helped bring this historic gathering together again after 15 years. Our ancestors protected these lands before us, and it is now our responsibility to continue that work so future generations inherit the same connections we were given.
Protect the land. Protect the water. Protect the animals. Protect the connection.

10/01/2026

Field days are a favorite, especially when it involves teaching students from Browning High School. Today, despite the rain in the morning THPO and BHS teamed up to visit an important area to our nation. Lessons on Blackfoot history, societies, ceremonial knowledge, ecology, paleontology, archaeology and our 18,000 year old existence were topics amongst the students. We visited an old tipi ring encampment and one of the older Buffalo jumps. Most importantly we were able to connect with the students and show them the value of who we are as Blackfoot people. Thank you to Collin Sibbernsen for making this connection with your students. 👣

09/30/2026

Today we remember those who didn’t make it back home from boarding school.
Blackfeet Nation has brought home Launey Shorty & George ELL from Carlisle Boarding School in recent years.
We continue to search for our members and bring them home!
Please support the work Ivan and Ivy Macdonald are doing to bring awareness.

09/27/2026

The Association of American Indian Affairs conducted a NAGPRA-Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act training at the U of M this year. 11 Blackfeet members are now successfully trained in the laws which govern the act.
👣 Back Row L-R Vernon Laplant, Terry Whitcomb, Virgil MadPlume, Milo Phipher,Raymond Kingfisher
Front L-R Sequoyah Osborne , Gheri Hall, Haley Omeasoo, Mikalen Running Fisher, Lisa Hunt

09/15/2026

These educational posters were compiled and prepared by the Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) using historical Blackfeet information recorded during C.C. Uhlenbeck and Wilhelmina Uhlenbeck-Melchior's 1911 work on the Blackfeet Reservation. Historical source material includes C.C. Uhlenbeck's Original Blackfoot Texts from the Southern Peigans Blackfoot Reservation (1911) and materials later published in Montana 1911: A Professor and his Wife among the Blackfeet, edited by Mary Eggermont-Molenaar and published by the University of Calgary Press in 2005.

THPO Notice: The clan names, family relationships, Blackfoot terminology, and associated cultural knowledge represented here originate with the Blackfeet people. Historical documentation by outside researchers should not be interpreted as ownership or authorship of Blackfeet cultural knowledge. This poster has been compiled by Blackfeet THPO for cultural preservation, education, and community access.

09/14/2026

The Chief Mountain Area is buzzing with tribal-led projects protecting our local fish and wildlife!

Our newest addition is a Blackfeet Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)-inspired snow fence constructed by our Cultural Landscape Coordinator, Tyrel. This beautiful woven willow fence is designed to capture wind-blown snow into deep drifts.

Why is this so important? As the trapped snow melts, it will recharge local surface water and groundwater aquifers ultimately helping to sustain our local pure strain cutthroat trout populations.

Take a look at the photos below to see this blend of tradition and conservation in action! 👇

08/27/2026

The current recommendations from the St. Mary and Milk River Study Board is to dam the Upper and Lower St. Mary Lakes to provide more water to the hi-line. I would recommend we use the Duck Lake Basin for water storage instead. Please comment this suggestion if you would like to see more water up at Duck Lake and would not like to see our lakelots flooded on Lower St. Mary Lake. We only have 3 days left so please comment via the link below and share with your friends now if you have the chance. We are currently seeing Goose Lake go dry which would result in a loss of all aquatic life possibly forever and resulting in animals getting stuck in the mud and dieing. I would also recommend we pull the water to fill Duck and Goose Lakes from our groundwater resource rather than from the canal. Thanks! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C4tUWDUzc/

The International St. Mary and Milk Rivers Study Board is inviting the public to comment on its final draft report during a 30-day public comment period, running from July 30 through Monday, August 31, 2026.