Background

People have probably lived in the area that is now called Glacier National Park for the last 10,000 years. Clovis people may have been the earliest inhabitants. Evidence of the presence of Clovis people has been found on the east side of the park. Many different groups of people have lived in this area during these 10,000 years. Prehistoric people hunted, fished, and gathered plants. Three of the primary, recent Native American groups associated with Glacier were the Kootenai, Salish, and Blackfeet tribes. The Kootenai and Salish lived west of the Continental Divide and the Blackfeet on the east side. Huge changes occurred to these Native Americans starting about 500 years ago. Diseases, horses, and firearms came to this area first. Then came explorers, fur traders, and missionaries. In the early 1800s, the earliest explorers to this general area were Peter Fidler, Meriwether Lewis, and David Thompson. During the 1800s, people of European descent settled into the valleys to the west of this area and on the plains to the east. Also during this time, the Native Americans were forced onto reservations where many of the tribe members still live today. The Flathead Indian Reservation, home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, is located southwest of the park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, home to the Blackfeet tribe, is located just east of the park. There are many locations in Glacier that are spiritually important to these and other tribes. Of the 79 known vision quest sites in Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park , several are still used today. In 1891, the Great Northern Railway was completed over Marias Pass. More homesteaders moved into northwest Montana. Miners searched for copper and gold in the mountains in the area that is now Glacier.

In the late 1800s, visitors began coming to this area, facilities for tourists were created, and the aesthetic value of this area was recognized. In 1895, the area that would become the eastern half of the park was purchased from the Blackfeet in anticipation of productive mining activity. After the mining proved to be unproductive, this purchase paved the way for the creation of Glacier National Park . George Bird Grinnell, who had visited the Glacier area since 1885, persuaded the Forestry Commission to put this general area into a forest reserve in 1896. Soon after this, he fought for the creation of a park, which he called “the Crown of the Continent”. After failing in 1907 and 1908, a bill was finally passed by Congress in 1910 that established Glacier National Park. Other big events in the 1900s include: the construction of the Going-to-the-Sun Road (completed in 1932 after 11 years of work), the designation of Glacier as part of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (in 1932), and the naming of the park as a Biosphere Reserve (in 1976) and a World Heritage Site, jointly with Waterton Lakes National Park (in 1993).

Research Needs

Historical studies

History of homesteading within Glacier National Park , including land management practices, and the interaction of homesteaders with park management.

History of mining within the park, including an identification/evaluation of the park's mining-associated resources. The history should identify areas within the park that were used for mining, the mining companies involved in activities within the park (such as the Cracker Mine and Bullhead Mine), and discuss the role of mining in the early exploration and development in the region before park establishment, including the circumstances preceding the acquisition of the “Ceded Strip” from the Blackfeet.

History of oil and gas exploration and development in the park. Similar to the mining history project described above, Glacier National Park is in need of a history of oil and gas exploration and development within the park, including the areas that were the subject of oil and gas exploration and development (Kintla Lake, Ford Creek, the current location of Lake Sherburne, Boulder Creek), the companies involved in those activities (Butte Oil Company, Cassidy-Swiftcurrent Oil Company, etc.), and the impact of such activities on the park including the construction of roads, such as the North Fork Road, which was built to accommodate oil development.

History of recreation and recreational development in the park, including a discussion of early park concession and private landowner operations, as well as the development of early facilities such as campgrounds, tent camps, and auto/cabin camps. An identification of the extant resources associated with this history would be an essential element of this study.

History of vacation experiences in Glacier National Park, and how those experiences have changed over time. For example, what was a typical vacation in Glacier National Park comprised of during the 1920s (1930s, 1940, etc.), and how does it compare to that of today?

History of the “buffalo soldiers” in Glacier National Park , particularly the Ahern expedition .

History of artist Charles M. Russell's association with Glacier National Park.

History of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) activities within the park.

History of the early (19th century) exploration in Glacier National Park by private individuals, business interests, and the U.S. government.

Evaluation of Going-to-the-Sun Road 's landscape design and its influence on national road design.

History of Glacier National Park during World War II, including impacts on park management, operations, and visitation.

History of Glacier National Park's backcountry and wilderness management, including a discussion of the evolution of Glacier's backcountry campground and trail system.

History of Glacier's trail system, including a chronology/history of construction and changes to the system over time due to the evolution of NPS management policies and visitor attitudes and expectations.

History of mountain climbing, including major climbers, climbs, and routes.

History of artistic “image-making” within Glacier National Park – including artists, photographers, and film-makers – who used Glacier National Park as their subject and/or setting.

Profiles of Glacier National Park superintendents, and their tenures within the park.

Popular history of Glacier National Park.

Historical overview of the coverage of Glacier National Park by the Hungry Horse News .

Assistance with editing and publishing a report on the “Red Buses” of Glacier National Park .

History of boat transportation in Glacier National Park , including commercial boat operations.

Oral history interviews with former and current employees, concessionaires, private landowners, and park neighbors. The park is always seeking to augment its collection of recorded oral history interviews and transcripts.

History of Glacier National Park natural resource management. This history includes a broad range of primary natural resource management topics that can also be individual research projects, including the following:

History of predator management, including such topics as “bounties” on wildlife;

History of bear and ungulate feeding in the park;

History of vegetation management, including non-native plant introductions (e.g., timothy and Yellowstone stock at Many Glacier), noxious weed control, vista clearing, hazard tree removal, hazard fuel removal, blister rust management, insect and disease control, campground management, and restoration of native plants;

History of grazing within the park;

Construction of the Logan Pass boardwalk (case study);

History of fisheries management;

Non-native fish introduction and control;

History of logging and its impacts (most, if not all, logging within the park was associated with the construction of park buildings and included the construction of a sawmill at Fish Creek); and

History of the evolution of fire management policy in Glacier.

History of the work of George Wright, the first chief of the wildlife division of the National Park Service (and for whom the George Wright Society is named), in Glacier National Park .

History of the 1964 flood.

History of individual wildland fires within Glacier National Park, such as the 1889, 1910, and 1929 Halfmoon Fires, including the placement of these events within their contemporary political, social, and economic contexts.

History of scientific research in Glacier National Park: who, what, when, and where the specimens are located, and the effects of this research on the development of park resource management policies.

Investigate paleobotany and prehistoric fire regimes (e.g. bog core studies)

Cultural studies

Synthesis of the numerous scientific reports that have been completed on the archeological surveys and discoveries within Glacier National Park, and what they tell us about the early inhabitants of what is now the park. The purpose of the synthesis is to present this information in a way that is useful to park interpreters and understandable by the general public.

Assessment of the national significance of Chief Mountain, and its possible evaluation as a National Historic Landmark.

Chief Mountain interpretive/management plan, as to the proper and respective use of Chief Mountain (in cooperation with the Blackfeet Tribe).

Expansion of some of the themes outlined in the Glacier National Park Ethnographic Study, including further study of the use of the area by all tribes for hunting, travel, fishing, burning and religious uses.

American Indian land management practices within what is now Glacier National Park, including use of fire and ethnobotany.

Project to assist with the identification of American Indians whose photographs are part of the Glacier National Park archives collection.

Glacier National Park is in need of several cultural landscape studies, all of which should include a landscape history, documentation of existing conditions, and an analysis and evaluation of significance.

Architectural research

Expansion of the existing National Historic Landmark nomination for the Great Northern Railway Buildings of Glacier National Park (Belton Chalet, Granite Park Chalet, Many Glacier Hotel, Sperry Chalet, and Two Medicine Store) to include all the chalet-associated resources, including dormitories, support buildings, etc.

History of architectural development within the park, including vernacular and architect-designed buildings.

History of private development in pre- and post-designated Glacier National Park, including homesteads, the Apgar and Altyn townsites, and residential homes.

History of vacation homes within the park, concentrating on the two subdivisions in which the properties are located: Glacier Park Villa Sites and Apgar Cottage Sites. The historic context should document the development of the subdivisions, including major stages of growth, significant personal associations, and political or legislative decisions affecting their growth, as well as the architectural development of the subdivisions, their architects and builders, the principal styles, time periods, and methods of construction, and the influence of the National Park Service, if any, to the development of the architectural styles.

Popular history of the construction, architecture and history of the chalets of Glacier National Park .

Library and curatorial collections