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I’ve had a fascination with Native American culture from a very young age.
Posters of Chief Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse adorned my wall, books of wisdom from Native American people sat on my desk, and dream catchers worked their magic of an evening (and still do).
The Western and Midwestern regions of the USA are famed for their Native American history, so when we visited the state of Montana, we knew we had to put special attention to learning about Montana’s Native American tribes.
Many Americans feel that to experience another culture, they must travel abroad, but within their own backyards, they have access to many diverse cultural stories, one of the richest being that of the Indigenous people.
This is simply not the case. You can learn about, and get involved in, Native American culture by attending an annual pow wow, a traditional gathering of Indigenous people for days of dancing, drumming, and celebrating their culture.
Not all powwows are open to the public, so in this guide, we’ve shared where you can learn about Native American culture in Montana and the pow wows that are open to visitors.
Where To Learn About Native American Culture in Montana
Montana is a state rich with Native American history and culture. It has 12 Native American Tribes representing 6.3 percent of the population, so you have numerous unique Native American cultural immersion experiences to enjoy.
Many of the tribes I grew up learning about and avidly following can be found in this state. Some of Montana’s Indian Nations that have world-famous stories are The Crow, Blackfeet, Sioux, and Cheyenne.
Montana is also the site of the infamous Battle of Little Bighorn within the Crow Reservation.
1. Crow Fair Celebration Powwow & Rodeo
Photo Credit: Visit Montana
If you’ve ever studied Indian education, you would know that the Crow Tribe, also known as the Apsáalooke People, are the oldest Native American tribe in Montana.
The Crow Native Days, or Crow Fair Celebration Powwow & Rodeo, takes place at the Crow Indian Reservation, near the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (the battle is re-enacted here)
Each year, they hold the annual Crow Fair & Rodeo, which has been running every year for over 100 years (with the exception of COVID, which shut it down for a couple years).
The Crow Fair and Rodeo begins on the third Thursday in August and attracts more than 50,000 spectators and participants from the around the world.
It’s held by the Apsáalooke people of the Crow Indian Reservation just South of Hardin, Montana, which is about 45 minutes from Billings.
The Crow Fair Celebration is the largest Native American event in Montana, and one of the biggest powwows in the country.
It includes a parade dance, arts and crafts, food, a four-day powwow, a rodeo, and horse races. It’s a great way to learn about the stories, way of life, and history of this tribe.
It also becomes the tipi capital of the world with the largest modern-day American Indian encampment in the nation.
The highlights of the Crow Fair Celebration include:
- Daily morning parade showing traditional bead work, buckskin and leather work. Riders on horseback are followed by elaborately decorated cars, trucks and trailers. Some of the vehicles are decorated in memorial to tribal elders who have passed during the prior year
- All-Indian Rodeo showcasing the talents of the best Indian-Cowboys in the Western USA.
- Closing out with a Dance Through Camp, which is a prayer for good things to come for the Crow people.
The Indian Relays
Photo Credit: Visit Montana
One of the big events of the Crow Fair is the wild, fast and exciting Indian Relays; relay races that involve bareback horseback riding.
Each team in the race comprises four riders, and when teams switch, one rider jumps off and the next rider jumps on – all while the horse is moving.
As someone who can barely even get on a still horse, this is an impressive display of horsemanship and bravery.
Children also showcase the horsemanship skills they have learned from their elders to carry on the traditions of their culture.
There’s a really great video sharing the tradition of the relay race. In it, Sarah Munjal and her three children attend an Indian Relay Championship, experiencing and appreciating the tribal culture and excitement surrounding this event.
You can watch it here…
2. North American Indian Days
Photo Credit: Visit Montana
North American Indian Days is an annual celebration held every July in Browning, to the east of Glacier National Park.
It’s one of the largest gatherings of Native tribes from the US and Canada and the largest and most impressive of Blackfeet tribal events.
The festival celebrates Blackfeet traditions and attracts a variety of Plains tribes, who pitch tipis on the festival ground and engage in all sorts of colorful and lively activities.
Among them are stick games, traditional drumming dancing contests, the crowning of Miss Blackfeet, PRCA Rodeo events and the popular and thrilling Indian Relays, showcasing Indian horsemanship.
3. Blackfeet Reservation Tipi Village at the Lodgepole Gallery and Tipi Village
Photo Credit: Visit Montana
From sun up to sundown, the Blackfeet Tipi Village offers a well-rounded and fully immersive experience into Blackfeet culture, lifestyle and history with tours to historical sites around the reservation.
You can visit the Native American Art Gallery for contemporary and traditional fine Blackfoot Indian art.
Their history tour brings Native American culture alive with a visit to the buffalo jump sites, tipi rings, powwows and the Museum of the Plains Indian.
You can go horseback riding following the paths of Blackfeet warriors and fish from the streams flowing out of Glacier National Park.
Spend the evening around the cracking fire learning about Indian culture, listening to Native America stories, drumming and songs about life for the Blackfoot Indian in Montana.
Then retire to your tipi and enjoy a night of camping in Blackfeet Country!
This is the Native American cultural experience I have dreamed of.
4. Tour the Going-to-the-Sun Road with a Native American Guide
Going to the Sun road
For an unforgettable and deeper connection to the natural beauty and Native American’s spiritual and cultural connection to Glacier National Park, take a tour on the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road with Sun Tours.
Guides on this tour are residents of the reservation and are deeply knowledgeable on tribal nations history, culture, lifestyle and the natural features of the landscape.
They will cover spiritual and philosophical perspectives, animal species, the history of the park and some of the plants and roots used for medicinal and nutritional purposes.
The Blackfeet Indian Nation called this area the “Backbone of the World.”
As you pass large glacial lakes, cedar forests and the windswept alpine tundra, the guides well tell you stories of life in both modern times and those of the Buffalo Days.
Make this experience more than just a few photos capturing some stunning scenery.
Bring it to life with culture, tradition and spiritual connection from those who have traveled the road for hundreds of years.
5. Arlee Powwow Esyapqeyni
Photo Credit: Visit Montana
Feel the beat, hear the music and experience traditional dress at the Arlee Powwow Esyapqeyni on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
It is the premier annual celebration of the Salish and Pend d’Oreille tribes and is sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation.
Today a powwow (or gathering) is a reunion for many Native families, clans and tribes spread apart in different cities or reservations.
There is the exchange of news, ideas, song, and dance, Native fashion, style and art.
It’s a time when Native people reflect on traditions and celebrate in the footprint of their elders.
In the 1890s, traditional Indian dances were illegal under Bureau of Indian Affairs, but the Bureau didn’t find it illegal to celebrate the Fourth of July.
The Salish and Pend d’Oreille tribes came up with an ingenious plan to carry out cultural events in secret behind a Fourth of July “celebration” to honor the nation’s birthday.
That began a tradition that has grown and evolved over the subsequent decades and has made the Arlee Powwow Esyapqeyni the longest running tribal celebration.
I love this story of determination to continue their traditions and celebrations and not let their culture be suppressed.
I’d love to be a part of that spirit in celebration with the Salish and Pend d’Oreille tribes.
The Powwow involves traditional dance competitions of the past and present, singing and drumming and a big Fourth of July parade.
There are also many vendors with handmade beaded crafts and food booths, which include a variety of Indian Tacos for sale.
The Fourth of July day events include a stick game tournament, parade and a Snake Dance.
The annual festival is held on the first week of July at the Arlee Powwow Grounds in Arlee, Montana.
6. Milk River Indian Days Powwow, Fort Belknap Reservation
Fort Belknap Indian community is formed of two tribes who were previously enemies, and now live in harmony; the Assiniboine or Nakoda and the Gros Ventre.
The reservation was set aside for them by the Federal Government in 1887, and covers an area that spans central and eastern Montana and into parts of western North Dakota.
The land has great cultural importance to them, and has many centuries-old petroglyphs and tipi rings.
A great way to learn about the traditions and history of the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes, and to honor their heritage, is at the Milk River Indian Days powwow held in Fort Belknap in Harlem every summer in July.
This three-day event features dancers, drummers, and colorful traditional dresses.
This event has been going for more than 60-years, and also has a youth pow wow.
7. Red Bottom Celebration, Fort Peck Assiniboine Reservation
Every June at the Fort Peck Reservation in Frazer, northeastern Montana, the Red Bottom Celebration takes hold.
This is an annual pow wow in celebration of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes.
The Red Bottom Celebration has been taking place for more than 100 years, celebrating Indian people and culture through dancing, food, arts and crafts, and more.
8. Badland’s Celebration, Sioux Tribes
Another celebration of the Sioux Tribes (Lakota) is the Badland’s Celebration, taking place every year in June, in Brockton, Montana.
Also hosted by the Fort Peck Tribes, this annual showcase is another festive weekend of dance, music, and community spirit.
With the Montana badlands as the backdrop, this is a celebration not only of heritage, but of natural beauty.
The Sioux were semi-nomadic, living off the land and sleeping under vast open skies.
9. Rocky Boy Pow Wow
Rocky Boy’s Reservation is the youngest reservation in Montana, having only been established in 1916. It’s also the smallest reservation, and is located in north-central Montana, and is a little shell tribe of Chippewa Indians.
The name comes from the leader of Chippewa Indians and means “Stone Child.”
Every year, on the first week of August, the Rocky Boy’s have their annual pow wow event to celebrate Indian Heritage and tradition.
The pow wow and rodeo is a social event and is usually open to the public, and features gatherings of drumming and dancing, including a Round Dance (when everyone dances around a circle).
Visitors should know the dance area is sacred.
10. Fourth of July Pow Wow in Lame Deer, Northern Cheyenne Reservation
Another Fourth of July pow wow celebration not to miss is the Pow Wow in Lame Deer in the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.
This event is the largest pow wow held on the reservation each year, and is a celebration of one of the most well known American Indian Tribes in Montana.
The Northern Cheyenne were part of the Cheyenne Tribe, who now predominantly live in Minnesota and the Dakota territory. They were nomadic people, with a deep appreciation for the land and the value of hard work.
The four day event is jammed packed with events bringing Northern Cheyenne traditions to the forefront. There’s drumming, parades, dancing, and a rodeo.
Final Thoughts
I love the deep spiritual connection to Mother Earth that the Native Americans had, and their delicate balance of strength, kindness, and humility.
I feel their spirit is ancient and timeless and something our harried and hurried modern world could benefit greatly from tapping into.
These experiences are important to learn about from a historical point of view, but also show the traditions and celebrations of Native American culture as it stands today.
American Indian culture is alive and thriving in modern galleries, powwows, museum exhibits, film festivals, and more.
We hope this guide helped you learn a bit more about Native Americans in Montana, and the powwows where you can learn about them.
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How have you experienced Native American culture in the United States? What would you most like to experience and why? Let us know in the comments.
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