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Blackfeet - Heart Butte, MT
American Indians Mission Trip
July 17, 2010 to July 24, 2010
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| Ministry Detail |
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Project Overview:
We are privileged to bring truth to the reservations. But it is a truth to be shared with love and care, a few people at a time. Most Natives are going to be at best cautious about, and at worst resistant, to what you have to say about Jesus.
Ministry Description:
Discipleship ministry may include relationship-building through fun activities, Bible studies, one-on-one discipleship studies or home visitations.
Evangelism might be done door-to-door, visiting nursing homes, teen detention centers or prisons, or through sports. There might be opportunitiy for construction/repairs, street ministry, performance ministry, VBS or Bible camps. Prayer walks will be included.
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| Trip Requirements |
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Newcomers to the world of missions can grow and make a difference among the Blackfeet. But proven, spiritual maturity and prior field experience in missions away from home really helps. So, bring some veterans to help newcomers get to the next level.
You are going to be living among the people of the Blackfeet Nation, so you may share the discomfort they sometimes experience. The power may fail, leaving you for a time without air-conditioning. The plumbing may fail, leaving you without showers for a day or two. Your ministry may be outside in a hot, dusty environment.
Relational ministry here can be challenging. People are often resistant to your message of hope. You may struggle to connect with people you are hoping to find. Please come determined to break through the emotional walls you will encounter. And you’ll be tired – relationship building and sharing Christ often carries into late-night hours.
You’ll need to exercise initiative to reach the lost and disciple those who struggle with their faith. Participants with developed social skills and the ability to engage people in conversation, sometimes at deeper, spiritual levels, will do well.
This is very much a cross-cultural experience, and it will stretch you. Spiritual warfare is waged regularly in Indian Country. Maintain plenty of prayer cover and let the Lord run the mission.
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| Food & Lodging |
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Lodging and 3 meals per day will be provided.
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| Dress Code & What to Bring
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Dress Code:
We do require all trip participants, leaders, and staff to adhere to a dress code on each of our EDGE mission projects. We do this to show respect for God, respect for ourselves, and respect for others. Please help us achieve this goal by teaching your group that our dress code isn’t because we’re extremists, but because we love God, we wish to honor His creation, and we don’t wish to cause others to stumble. You can find specific guidelines in your M101 manual or by contacting your EDGE representative.
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| Travel Information |
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Airport & Transportation:
Groups may drive to Browning or fly to Great Falls, MT (125 miles southeast) or Kalispell, MT (91 miles west). Vans are available to rent at either airport, but must be reserved well in advance. We suggest getting price comparisons on airfare and van rentals.
Groups must provide their own ground transportation. Extensive travel is common on the rez, so at least two vans will better facilitate travel for activities with local kids.
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Shots & Vaccinations:
An updated Tetanus shot is strongly recommended for ALL projects.
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Suggested Travel Agency:
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Angie Lepley, CTC
Tangerine Travel, Ltd.
16017 Juanita Woodinville Way NE, #201
Bothell, WA 98011
Phone (800) 678-8202
Direct (425) 354-6910
Email Angie@tangerinetravel.com
www.tangerinetravel.com
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Suggested Travel Insurance:
We highly recommend that all program participants have health insurance coverage.
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| Meet the Trip Leaders |
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| Project Leader: |
Mike McCord
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| Location Information
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Location Description:
The Blackfeet Reservation is located in northwestern Montana on the eastern border of Glacier National Park, near some of the most scenic land in the United States. It also shares a 50-mile border with Canada. The reservation has mostly open, slightly-rolling ground with few trees. Heart Butte is on the southern end of the reservation.
Weather:
Summer daytime highs are near 80, with low humidity. Evenings are cool, and it seldom rains.
Area Attractions:
http://russell.visitmt.com/communities/HeartButte.htm
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| People, Culture and Religion
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Before 1850, the Blackfeet lived on the Great Plains just east of the Rocky Mountains, extending southward from Edmonton, Alberta, to Yellowstone National Park.
In 1832, artist George Catlin estimated that the Blackfeet numbered 16,500. During the nineteenth century, repeated epidemics of smallpox and measles, together with starvation, decimated the population. In 1909, they numbered only 4,635. The Blackfeet were typical of the Plains Indians in many aspects of their culture. They were nomadic hunter-gatherers, lived in tipis, and subsisted mainly on buffalo.
The religious life of the Blackfeet centered on medicine bundles and their associated rituals. Sacred bundles might include bones, skins, stones, headdresses, shirts, shields, knives, lances, and even painted lodges. These bundles were individually owned and originated from an encounter with a supernatural spirit during a dream or vision quest.
During the early 1800s, beaver trappers entered Blackfeet hunting grounds, and were not welcomed. Some of the Blackfeet trapped and brought furs and hides to the white trading posts. In exchange, they received guns and ammunition, metal knives and tools, and glass beads. Others opposed trapping because the beaver is sacred to the tribe.
Today, the Blackfeet farm and raise livestock. In addition to the Montana reservation, they live on three Canadian reserves. Those living in Canada usually use the name "Blackfoot."
(lucy.ukc.ac.uk/EthnoAtlas)
World Book 2002
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| Government and Economy
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Reservations are sovereign nations, and as such have their own tribal governments, clinics, schools, and police force. There are few jobs and widespread unemployment.
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| Statistics
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Population:
8,488 - Blackfeet Reservation, Montana
(tlc.wtp.net/blackfeet.htm)
Heart Butte population was 698 at the 2000 census.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Butte,_Montana) |
Poverty Rate:
About 42.0% of families and 44.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 50.7% of those under age 18 and 57.7% of those age 65 or over.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Butte,_Montana) |
Average Annual Income:
As of the census of 2000, the median income for a family was $20,990.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Butte,_Montana)
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