Chippewa Cree Tribe secures 280 acres of the Sweet Grass Hills for historic preservation

The Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation Wednesday signed a purchase agreement for 280 acres of the Sweet Grass Hills, with Chippewa Cree Business Committee Vice Chair Ted Whitford saying Wednesday that the tribe wants to preserve the land.

“We don’t want it to be destroyed — because it has cultural significance to our tribe and other tribes in this region,” Whitford said.

He said the purchase included eight different properties totalling approximately 280 acres of land.

The signing took place at the First American Title Company in Shelby.

Whitford said that the land is sacred to the tribe as well as other tribes in the area. With the land in the tribe’s possession, he said, the grounds will be preserved for historical significance and will not be developed.

He said the tribe learned of the opportunity after the land owner approached a tribal member and offered the land to the tribe before putting it on the open market. This deal has been in the process for the past nine to 12 months, he said, adding that he feels overjoyed that the tribe was able to secure this sacred land.

“It’s hard to describe how it feels to have the land back,” he said.

He added that a few other members said it was “awesome” or that they were happy to have the land back after the deal was signed.

The tribe needed the land because gaining access to sacred sites had previously been difficult or even impossible, he said. Now that the tribe has closed the deal, he said, it should be significantly easier.

He said it has been a long time since the tribe has had access to some of these sites.

NativeReligions.org said that these lands historically were used for a variety of purposes. Because of their location on the plains, the hills served as an area to observe the landscape and used as lookout points to watch for bison herds or approaching enemies. It said the lands were also often used as a place for sacred fasting and vision quests.

For the Northern Plains tribes, the Sweet Grass Hills where also a place of origin for many tribal stories.

“The Chippewa Cree believe that Devil’s Chimney Cave, located on East Butte, is where their Creator decided the future of mankind and remade the world after a great flood,” the website said as an example.

Watch for more about the Chippewa Cree purchase in upcoming editions of the Havre Daily News.

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Native Religions: http://www.nativereligions.org