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Violation

Blackfeet and Glacier National Park: the 1895 agreement and the 1910 park

Not yet reviewed by this nation. What follows comes from public records and research. It does not speak for the nation.

The Blackfeet sold mountain land in 1895 but kept hunting rights; Glacier National Park followed, and courts split on whether they survived.

Treaty
Lame Bull Treaty (1855); 1895 Agreement ceding mountain land
Nations
Blackfeet (Pikuni) Nation
When
1895-1935
Land affected
About 800,000 acres of mountain land and associated hunting/gathering access.
Acreage
about 800,000 acres
Legal aftermath
Court of Claims (1935) sided with the United States; Blackfeet claims that rights persist de jure remain.

What happened

In September 1895 the Blackfeet agreed to sell the mountain land along the western edge of their reservation to the United States. The tribal-history site trailtribes.org says it was 800,000 acres and the price was $1.5 million. Federal commissioners wanted the minerals. The Indians told them they wanted to keep rights to hunt, fish and cut timber.

The agreement reserved those rights. It said the Indians kept "the right to hunt upon said lands and to fish in the streams thereof so long as the same shall remain public lands of the United States." Congress ratified it on June 10, 1896. On May 11, 1910, Congress created Glacier National Park and included the sold land.

The courts then disagreed. The Court of Claims decided in 1935 that the reserved rights "were authoritatively terminated by the limitations of the act of May 11, 1910," a federal judge wrote in 1974. In United States v. Kipp (January 1974), a Blackfeet man was charged for entering the park without paying. Judge Russell Smith wrote that the Indians would not have understood the words "public lands" to let the United States end their rights by changing how it owned the land. He held that "the reserved rights were not extinguished by the act creating Glacier Park" and dismissed the charge.

Six months later, in United States v. Momberg, the same judge convicted a man for cutting wood but did not decide whether the rights survive. He noted the conflict between the 1935 decision and Kipp.

Good to know. Courts split: a 1935 ruling found the rights ended when the park was created, while a 1974 federal ruling found they survived.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error

What the sources say, and how this was checked

Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.

  1. The Blackfeet sold this land, now Glacier Park and part of the Lewis and Clark Forest, for $1.5 millionThe Blackfeet: Shrinking Reservation (trailtribes.org)
  2. the said Indians hereby reserve and retain the right to hunt upon said lands and to fish in the streams thereofUnited States v. Kipp, 369 F. Supp. 774 (D. Mont. 1974)
  3. I conclude that the reserved rights were not extinguished by the act creating Glacier Park.United States v. Momberg, 378 F. Supp. 1152 (D. Mont. 1974), quoting Kipp
  4. such rights were authoritatively terminated by the limitations of the act of May 11, 1910United States v. Momberg, 378 F. Supp. 1152 (D. Mont. 1974)

Research notes. Kipp (Jan. 1974) and Momberg (July 1974) are district-court opinions; Kipp was unappealed per Momberg. The 1935 Court of Claims holding is known only through Momberg's footnote quotation; that opinion was not opened. The 800,000 acres and $1.5 million figures are from the trailtribes.org history; Kipp mentions the $1.5 million price. The agreement date is given as Sept. 25, 26 or 28, 1895 across the opinions, so only the month is stated. Whether Montana or federal courts have since ruled was not checked. The Blackfeet Nation's own account was not consulted.

Treaty or agreementShapes from the 1899 federal record: approximate, not legal boundaries.

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Connections

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Nations named 1

Located in 1

Policy era 1

Concerns the instrument 1

Sources

  1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier_National_Park_(U.S.)pointer
The record’s fields
What happened
Blackfeet and Glacier National Park: the 1895 agreement and the 1910 park -- The Lame Bull Treaty (1855) included the eastern part of today's park within the Blackfeet reservation up to the Continental Divide. Under an 1895 agreement, Chief White Calf authorized sale of about 800,000 acres of mountain land to the United States for $1.5 million; the Blackfeet understood they would keep hunting rights as long as the land remained 'public land of the United States.' Glacier became a national park on May 11, 1910; the enabling legislation does not mention the guarantees. The United States holds the park designation ended those rights, which the Court of Claims confirmed in 1935. Park rules prohibit hunting; some Blackfeet maintain the usage rights persist.
Kind
Violation
Confidence
Medium
Nation review
Not yet reviewed by this nation
Notes
  • Some details not yet checked against a source

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