deirdre.lyttle
Chief Mountain, Montana & Milky Way
Southern Alberta
Chief Mountain has been a sacred mountain to Native American tribes for hundreds of years. The Blackfoot name for the mountain is Nínaiistáko. The mountain was seen by white explorers in the late 18th century and was known as "Kings Peak" on maps produced in the United Kingdom in 1795. The name was changed in the late 19th century in reflection of Blackfeet naming of the mountain which was "Great Chief". When Glacier National Park was created in 1910, the summit and most prominent eastern slopes of the mountain were located within the park, leaving only the lower slopes within Blackfeet jurisdiction. Photo taken from the Canadian side of the border.
Chief Mountain remains sacred to many First Nations peoples from both the U.S. and Canada. Natives from all over North America travel to the base of the mountain for sweet grass ceremonies, placing of prayer flags and other religious rites. In the early 1900s as white settlers came to the area, they observed native burial sites scattered along the base of the mountain. Elders from Southern Alberta's Siksika Band (where the Great Chief Crowfoot hailed from) and other First Nation groups have an oral tradition that near the end of days, a Great White God would appear from the top of Chief Mountain and upon his departure, the mountain would crumble and be destroyed.
Chief Mountain, Montana & Milky Way
Southern Alberta
Chief Mountain has been a sacred mountain to Native American tribes for hundreds of years. The Blackfoot name for the mountain is Nínaiistáko. The mountain was seen by white explorers in the late 18th century and was known as "Kings Peak" on maps produced in the United Kingdom in 1795. The name was changed in the late 19th century in reflection of Blackfeet naming of the mountain which was "Great Chief". When Glacier National Park was created in 1910, the summit and most prominent eastern slopes of the mountain were located within the park, leaving only the lower slopes within Blackfeet jurisdiction. Photo taken from the Canadian side of the border.
Chief Mountain remains sacred to many First Nations peoples from both the U.S. and Canada. Natives from all over North America travel to the base of the mountain for sweet grass ceremonies, placing of prayer flags and other religious rites. In the early 1900s as white settlers came to the area, they observed native burial sites scattered along the base of the mountain. Elders from Southern Alberta's Siksika Band (where the Great Chief Crowfoot hailed from) and other First Nation groups have an oral tradition that near the end of days, a Great White God would appear from the top of Chief Mountain and upon his departure, the mountain would crumble and be destroyed.