Valier in Pondera County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Signs of Home
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
| | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | |
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 13, 2022
1. Signs of Home Marker
You may have noticed a ring of rocks on the land before you. This is a tipi ring - a remnant of American Indian architecture. Like many other tribes, the Blackfeet tribe who lived in this area used tipis as moving homes.
The tipi was designed to accommodate a nomadic lifestyle. When an encampment was set up a ring of rocks were used to hold the tipis in place.
Traditionally, tipis were constructed and owned by American Indian women. The sides wee generally made of buffalo hides; it could take up to 20 hides to make a large tipi.
"The Blackfeet and their relatives, the Piegan and the Blood Indians, still have many beautiful painted "medicine" tipis and in this respect they have the most colorful lodges to be seen today." -- Reginald and Gladys Laupin, The Indian Tipi
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Architecture • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Women. In addition, it is included in the Lewis & Clark Expedition series list.
Location. 48° 28.981′ N, 112° 21.544′
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Regionally, this marker is in Western Montana and in Russell Country. It is also in the American Mountain West and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 6 other markers are within 14 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: A Dispute Over Horses and Guns (here, next to this marker); Cut Bank International Airport (approx. 8.6 miles away); a different marker also named Cut Bank International Airport (approx. 8.6 miles away); Valier Public School (approx. 13.2 miles away); Captain Meriwether Lewis (approx. 14 miles away); The 546th Missile Squadron (approx. 14 miles away).
Also see . . . A Nearly Pristine Pawnee Tipi Ring Site -- National Trust for Historic Preservation. The site is historically significant as a rare remnant of the Pawnee Nation in Kansas, and it is almost entirely pristine. In fact, the only part of the site that was moved is still on the property. Stones that once lined the Pawnees' tipi rings were utilized in the construction of a barn nearby. When archaeologists began excavating the area, they found similar stones buried beneath some of the rings, indicating that the Pawnees would have reused the site year after year. (Submitted on April 14, 2023, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 13, 2022
2. Signs of Home Marker
The Tipi Ring is inside the enclosure behind the marker.
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 13, 2022
3. Signs of Home Marker, on the left
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer
4. View of Pawnee tipi ring number 19 from the south towards Smoky Hill River.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 14, 2023, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 441 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 14, 2023, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
