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From Homelands to Present

Background Info/ Historical Story:

“Signs of the plains. Signs of what? Signs that creatures other than mere animals had passed that way. In the grasses, on the hill-tops, among the rocks, in dry washes and on exposed surfaces, in fact almost anywhere, one may find spear points and arrow heads of different sizes, shapes and materials. One may find war clubs, hammers of stone, scrapers and small mortars. Some of these are on the surface and some are dug out of crevices or caves, and others are often turned up by farm machinery.

Then there are the pottery remains. Some of these have been found among the Medicine Rocks and in other places, though they are not plentiful. Any Indians found living here after the coming of the white man did not make pottery. They preferred to dig a pit and line it with a heavy buffalo hide filled with water and hot rocks. They also carried the meat and water in skin bags, so it is believed that the pottery must have been made by people of a much more ancient race. Inscriptions have also been found on cliffs and on cave walls. Some of the earliest pioneers tell of inscriptions being seen on the Medicine Rocks. They were of Indian origin and no longer visible.

Many people have seen the patterns of rocks found in and around the country. They are not haphazard formations but have been laid in rings, squares and wedges and other designs, which indicate some definite purpose behind their placing. Northeast of Baker, in the eastern fringe of the Bad Lands, may be seen an ancient tribal trail. It begins in the grass land near the western base of a stony ridge, runs up to the top of the ridge where it widens and merges into a design of many rocks on the summit. It then continues down the southeastern slope where it is lost in the rough surface of the valley. The trail is well marked and at the summit may be seen several rings of stones. It was formerly believed, by some, that the Indians never used stones to moor their tepees to the ground, and furthermore, some of the rings intersected, which tepee rings would never do. The Indians laid out their camps in a definite manner, and they never built a camp on top of a ridge.

At first glance, it seems strange to us that they should have labored to build a trail over a steep ridge when they could have built it more easily on low ground. The most sensible explanation lies in the belief that it is the site of some religious ceremonies. Stones were always used for the construction of sites for ceremonial rites and many examples of these sites have been found scattered over the plains. No one will ever know just what people placed the stones, nor how long ago they lived, but it is interesting to think of the dusky-skinned natives, toiling in the heat of day or the cool of the evening, preparing what may have been a site for some sacred ritual.”- O’Fallon Flashbacks, Lorene E. Kirschten, 1940

  • It is important to note the language that is being used to describe the Indigenous people of Montana. It is dismissive and patronizing. There is a wealth of Indigenous history in the Fallon County area, thankfully we can appreciate it and do it in a more respectful manner.

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