Audio
2. American Indians in Glacier
Transcript
Since prehistoric times, humans have travelled through and lived in the Glacier National Park region. To the Kootenai, Salish, Pend d‟Oreille and Blackfeet people, the landscape has always been a place of tremendous spiritual importance. The Kootenai Indians called Lake McDonald, “The Place Where They Dance” because they went there to dance, sing songs, and find spiritual guidance. Additionally, the Kootenai used several routes through Glacier National Park to find needed resources such as bison on the Great Plains. The Blackfeet used the same routes, but travelled westward to steal horses – an act of great prowess in their culture. In 1806, Lewis and Clark came within 50 miles of what is now Glacier Park, and as the number of white people moving west increased, the American Indian tribes were forced onto reservations. The thousands of years old Kootenai tradition of camping and dancing at the foot of Lake McDonald ended after Milo Apgar and others settled in the area. When formally made into a national park in 1910, Glacier began to attract more and more visitors. These visitors expected roads, trails, food, lodging, and other services. To provide some of these amenities, the park needed more employees, and the employees needed housing! Look to your left and you will see the bike path which leads to Apgar Village, and then look to your right. As you turn to your right on Mather Drive, realize that you are on the old, main park entrance road. All of the structures along the west side of Mather Drive are examples of “Mission 66 “employee housing. When you are across the street from the building with the “Research Learning Center Residence” sign on the front, press 3#, to learn more about “Mission 66” employee housing.
Description
To the Kootenai, Salish, Pen d'Oreille, and Blackfeet people, the Glacier National Park landscape has long been a place of tremendous spiritual importance.
Duration
1 minute, 42 seconds
Credit
Glacier National Park
Date Created
08/06/2015
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