Slide closes sacred mountain

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A major rock slide on July 2 has closed one of the most sacred areas in North America.

Chief Mountain, an outstanding landmark in north central Montana and southwestern Alberta, and the primary spiritual place for the Blackfoot peoples and other Plains Indians, have been declared unsafe. Since the slide, trails in the area have been closed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Blackfeet Tribal Council.

Bureau official Bob Martin said the area is still unstable, especially after recent heavy rains which are causing the debris to continue to move down the mountain side. The slide, in which a large slab off the north face of the mountain gave way, caused damage to about 500 acres of land, moving rock and soil and destroying several hundred acres of trees.

Many Natives believe the slide is a message sent by the spirit of the mountain - a message that bad things are happening on and around the mountain.

"A lot of people have been going up the te mountain without proper preparation," said Keith Chiefmoon, a resident of the Blood Reserve.

"The spirits of the mountain have been offended by the lack of respect some people are showing. There's been drinking parties and beer bottles and rubbish left on

the mountain. Tourists have been taking the offerings left for the mountain."

Chiefmoon said he's had some good visits with the mountain because he's been willing to do a lot of sacrificing before going, and because he has the proper respect for

its powers.

But he said some Natives are going up without a genuine interest in the spiritual aspects of the mountain.

"They haven't been praying or asking for permission, and they're not even pipe-holders. You have to be a pipe-holder to go up there," he adds.

Chiefmoon's sentiments are echoed by many in the area, said Brian Reeves, an archaeologist at the University of Calgary. The mountain is a sacred place and you can feel its power when you're there," he said.

"There are very few places like this in North America," Reeves said. "In the Christian faith, the Church at Ste. Anne de Beaupres is one and there's a mission in New Mexico that's another. It takes thousands of years for the spirit of such places to develop. The people have to be tied to the land for it to happen."

Reeves said the Blackfoot have been here possibly for 5,000 years, so the spirit of this mountain is very strong.

But the attraction of the peak is a place to go is also strong, especially since a well was developed at its base and a road put in to the well.

"It used to be that you had to walk in from the highway, then walk around to the south side in order to climb up. But with the road in there now, you can practically drive right to the base," Reeves said. "Some pouches of tobacco that had been left there as offerings were stolen last summer and there's a lot of people going up who don't have any sense of respect for the place as a spiritual place."

The sacred mountain has a long history of usage for vision questions, and such uses is still common.

"Some of the members of our Sun Dance group have planned to go there soon,

for a spiritual meeting," Chiefmoon said. "We're getting together to discuss this but we'll probably still go. We'll have to do some extra praying to ask the mountain's permission.