Distinctly Montana Magazine

23 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m hensive study of the distri- bution of vision-quest struc- tures in portions of Piikáni territory. By 2001, they had identified "five ancient structures on Chief Moun- tain, over fifty on both the nearby and distant moun- tain tops," and more than 100 such structures in Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks. Predictably, some revelations received during vision quests inspired the advent of important religious icons and rituals. For example, the Beaver Bundle is the largest, most ancient and most revered Nitsitapii (Blackfeet) medicine bundle. The pre- ponderance of evidence from oral history suggests that it was conveyed in visionary form by the Beaver People at Waterton Lakes. Similarly, the origins of Medicine Pipe bundles are at- tributed directly to communications from Thunder. According to an account provided in 1905 by Brings-Down-The-Sun, a North Piikáni holy man, the Long-Time-Pipe, which is the oldest Piikáni sacred pipe, was visioned long ago at Ninaistákis. References to Chief Mountain first appeared in the historic re- cord during the 1790s. Peter Fidler, a fur trader for the Hudson's Bay Company, spent the winter of 1792-1793 at a Piikáni village in the foothills of southwestern Alberta. On December 31, 1792, he became the first white man to observe Chief Mountain, which his guides identified as Nin nase tok que or "the King." Based on information compiled by Fidler, Aaron Arrowsmith, a British cartographer, produced the first maps (1795-1796) that identify Chief Mountain and depict its relative position in the Northern Rockies. In 1802, Arrowsmith crafted a more detailed map of the Upper Missouri and adja- cent portions of the Saskatchewan River basin, which incorpo- rated data from maps that Siksiká (Blackfoot proper) chiefs cre- ated for Fidler. Therein, the "Heart" (Heart Butte) and "King" (Chief Mountain) were the only peaks represented for this section of the Rockies. Arrowsmith's second map became an indispensable resource for subsequent cartographers and was meticulously consulted in preparation for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Meriwether Lewis may have seen Chief Mountain from Camp Disappointment on July 22, 1806. Located along Cutbank Creek, approximately 12 miles northeast of present-day Browning, this site was the northernmost point at which the Corps of Discovery encamped. Weather conditions, however, were heavily overcast and often rainy throughout the extended stay of Lewis's party, which may explain the absence of journal references to observa- tions of Chief Mountain. Documentary evidence of Euroamer- ican contact with Ninaistákis does not surface again until the 1850s, when James Doty, a surveyor for the U.S. Pacific Railway Expedition, and members of the British North American Palliser Expedition viewed the mountain in 1854 and 1858, respectively. Piegan Blackfeet woman on a horse with baby carrier and travois in Glacier National Park Aaron Arrowsmith map of Upper Missouri ELKHORN MTNS TOBACCO ROOT MTNS GRAVELLY RANGE BIG BELT MTNS ROCKY MTN FRONT LITTLE BELT MTNS MISSION MTNS GARNET RANGE GALLATIN RANGE ANACONDA RANGE ABSAROKA RANGE OLD NORTH TRAIL

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