The 1910-1912 Chippewa Exodus off the Blackfeet Reservation

To understand the tragic events of 1910-1912, we must do a little research. After the United States defeated the Anishinabe people in either 1874 or 1876, Anishinabe ogimak commenced to organize their people for a westward and northward exodus. Most fled to the Idaho, Oregon, and Washington region as was told to do in the Seven Fires Prophecy. Many others fled up to Canada. What almost everyone does not know is that 100s, if not 1,000s of Anishinabek, fled into very isolated regions in Montana and Wyoming. Those regions are known today as the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Glacier National Park, and also Yellowstone National Park.

From these regions the Chippewa's continued to avoid being forced to relocate to Reservations. They actually lived in all mountainous areas in western Montana. In the Yellowstone National Park region, the Chippewa's from the Crow-Northern Cheyenne Reservation, used what is now US Highway 212 (it is near Red Lodge) and also County Road 419 near Nye, to flee to the very high plateau just north of Yellowstone National Park in Montana, and Yellowstone National Park. The very high plateau in Montana, just north of Yellowstone National Park, has an elevation from 9,000 feet above seal level to 11,000 feet above sea level. They fished, hunted, and gathered wild plants for food. They also visited certain white settlements in southwestern Montana to trade with the whites. They be Anaconda, Bozeman, Butte and others.

Near what is now the city of West Yellowstone, they used what is now Gallatin Road to travel to the Hebgen Lake region. From there, they used what is now US Highway 287 which now leads to the Montana settlements of Anaconda, Butte, Ennis, and Cardwell, to venture from one location to another. From the Anaconda and Butte region, they were fully capable of reaching the Garrison, Montana region. The whites didn't like it and complained bitterly. In 1891, the United States established a military fort in Yellowstone National Park and also one in Helena, to specifically deal with the Chippewa's who refused to be subjugated. They also used the old fort at Missoula and Fort Assiniboine.

In what is now the Bob Marshall Wilderness area and Glacier National Park, a significant population of Chippewa's continued to live free. They lived throughout the Glacier National Park region and Bob Marshall Wilderness region, and subsisted on wild game and the gathering of edible plants. They made frequent visits to Augusta, Babb, Dupuyer, Choteau, Garrison, Lincoln, Wolf Creek and even made use of what is now the Essex and West Glacier region. They made the visits to barter with the whites. As mentioned, the whites tended not to like it. In 1891, some whites in Wolf Creek complained bitterly to the commander of the new fort near Helena (Fort Harrison) about 300 Indians they thought would attack them. The Chippewa's were using the very narrow Dearborn River Valley to visit the Wolf Creek region. They entered the Dearborn River Valley from what is now the Bob Marshall Wilderness area.

Near what is now East Glacier Park Village, Essex, and Heart Butte the Anishinabe people did conduct trade with the trading houses. From about 2 miles east of what is now Essex, the Anishinabek used a trail or followed a river for some 11 miles to the southeast. There the trail branched off with one going on to the Heart Butte region, while the other made a turn to the southwest then south. It went on for 45 miles until reaching what is now the Gibson Resevoir region. Though the mountain valleys were narrow, at some locations they become a bit wider. The trail made a turn to the southwest before reaching what is now Gibson Resevoir. At that location the Anishinabek either went eastward to Augusta or followed the trail to the southwest (made a right turn) for 6 miles. There the trail branched off with one going eastward to the Augusta region, while the other made a westward turn and went on for 6 miles. There where the elevation was over 5,300 feet above sea level, it made a sharp turn to the south for 6 miles. It went up a rather easy mountain trail to an elevation of over 7,100 feet above sea level.

After descending the mountain trail to the south, it reached an area where the trail branched off again. The location was an extremely important location to the Chippewa's who lived throughout what is now the Bob Marshall Wilderness Region and Glacier National Park. One trail led to the south for 4 miles where it led to what is now Helmville, Montana and Ovando, Montana. On that same trail going to Helmville, another trail branched off which goes to the Lincoln, Montana region. From Helmville, Garrison, Montana was but a few miles away. The other trail made a sharp turn to the east then the north, where it led to what is now the Hungry Horse Resevoir. The valley was a bit wider and easier to travel through. In fact, more Chippewa's may have lived in that valley in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Region, than the ones to the east. They may have even used their canoes to sail up the south fork of the Flathead River, to reach the Flathead Reservation. They certainly used the Ovando region to visit the Flathead Reservation and hide out in the Swan (aka Condon Valley) Valley which is situated between the Flathead Reservation and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Region.

In 1891, the United States realized the Anishinabe Nation was not going to sign the 1887 Sweet Grass Hills Treaty (it is better known as the ten cent an acre treaty) and hired Chippewa's who did not have the authority to cede Anishinabe land, to sign the fraudulent treaty. After the treaty was signed, the United States set aside many knew Chippewa Reservations in Montana including what is now Glacier National Park. That may have occurred in 1895. They may have even set aside what is now the Bob Marshall Wilderness region but possibly not. In 1909, the United States rounded up 100s of Chippewa's near Helena (they may have been compelled to leave what is now the southern part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness region), and relocated them to the Blackfeet Reservation. The following year (1910) the United States officially announced that Glacier National Park had been established. That is what led to the Chippewa Exodus off the Blackfeet Reservation. In 1916, the United States established the closed Rocky Boy Reservation for the Chippewa's who fled the Blackfeet Reservation between 1910-1912.

Evidently the whites did not capture all Chippewa's still living in what is now the Bob Marshall Wilderness region. In the 1930s, a few Chippewa's were still living in what is now the Bob Marshall Wilderness region. At their populations height, the Chippewa's living in the mountainous regions of Idaho, western Montana, and Wyoming possibly numbered up to 5,000. That be the 1890s. From the Bob Marshall Wilderness Region, the Chippewa's stayed in contact with the Chippewa's in the mountains of southwestern Montana and northeastern Wyoming. From the Helmville region, it was quite easy for the Chippewa's to use the mountains between the Bob Marshall Wilderness Region and Yellowstone National Park. Only a few small mountain valleys obstructed their travels. Many Chippewa's visited Anaconda and Butte frequently from the Yellowstone National Park region and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Region. Some even lived near those cities.