Hello!

I am writing this entry on the final day of my service trip to the Blackfoot Indian Reservation in Montana. We served at 3 primary locations: Eagle Shield, an elder care home; FAST (Food Access Sustainability Team) Blackfeet, a local nonprofit food bank; and Crystal Creek Sobriety Campout. Before service work began, however, we spent one day touring the Blackfeet reservation. A local tribe member named Joe served as a guide and provided a great overview about the Blackfeet's historical and cultural connection to the area, going all the way from the pre-Columbian Americas to the modern day. On Monday (the first day of service) I was primarily working on the green outside of Eagle Sheild. I and one other volunteer spent hours lawn mowing and weed whacking a garden/seating area that had not been mown since last year and had weeds and grass that had grown over 3 feet tall. While we worked, we spoke with a local tribe member working at Eagle Shield and learned about Blackfeet culture and their experiences of living on the reservation. The most culturally significant aspect of this day was a lecture given by a local tribeswoman regarding the state of the tribe as a whole. She described the internal political complexities of tribal admission, tribal registration, sovereign nation status, housing insecurity, and many more topics, delving into internal political divides and external struggles for representation. She also shared cultural beliefs of the Blackfeet, including religion and larger popular culture. On the second day, I continued my work at Eagle Sheild. That evening we went on a trail ride on a 6000-acre ranch owned by a local Blackfeet family and wrapped up the day with a delicious barbecue. On Wednesday, my primary assignment was switched to Crystal Creek Sobriety Campout, a 4-day community event to support community members suffering from alcoholism and its repercussions. We helped to prepare and serve over 500 hundred meals to attendees. We also had the privilege of listening to community members tell about their personal struggles with alcoholism or the damage that alcoholism had wrought on their families. A nurse spoke about her 26-year experience working in the Blackfoot Confederacy and specifically specializing in the treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction. The founder of the FAST food bank explained how native culture had been systematically stigmatized, and the US government introduced "commodity boxes" of processed foods, leading tribespeople to adopt a diet of cheap, commercially produced foods high in salt and fat instead of hunting or gardening for themselves, resulting in a plague of obesity and alcoholism within reservations. Many spoke of how close family members had been taken by "the drink," and we firsthand witnessed people ranging from 24 hours to 48 years sober receiving their coins to celebrate and recognize their sobriety. This day concluded with the demonstration of another culture, however, as a volunteer from the Cook Islands performed a traditional dance for us and explained its meaning. The next day, I was stationed at FAST Blackfeet for the duration of our service. Here, we stocked shelves and helped people navigate through aisles using a points system to select a certain amount of food, which everyone in need was allotted. It was devastating to witness the magnitude and prevalence of food insecurity within the area. In contrast, that evening we were treated to a celebration of the traditional Blackfeet diet by guest speaker Seth Stillsmoking. Seth Stillsmoking is a member of the Blackfeet community who has dedicated himself to the preservation of Blackfeet cuisine and innovation in traditional techniques. He explained to us the cultural significance of individual plants that the Blackfeet would consume pre-colonially, including their medicinal and spiritual properties. He also explained how many of these plants had been driven to near-eradication due to the arrival of white settlers and their agriculture. Friday served as an introduction to Native American cultural celebration, as the Crystal Creek Camp culminated in a powwow (a festive gathering of indigenous people). We listened to a 7-person music group play traditional drums and sing culturally significant Blackfeet songs. We participated in several traditional dances with members of the Blackfeet community and afterwards were treated to a lunch of more contemporary "Indian tacos." This dish represents a fusion of Indigenous and American culture, as it features "fry bread," a dish that developed out of necessity by the Blackfeet using the ingredients provided in the original commodity boxes. In a way, fry bread represents Native American adaptation in the face of overwhelming odds.