Community Partner since 1999.
Each summer, since 2000 (except for 2020), Global Volunteers has worked in partnerships with the Blackfeet people on community priorities – focusing on labor, elder services and family health and recreation projects. The first volunteer team in 2022 – 10 individuals aged19 to 73 – served from June 5-11. Thirteen service programs follow through early […]
Special education teacher Lynn O’Brien of Indiana volunteered on her first service program last summer on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana. Her mother had worked with indigenous populations in Montana as a young woman in the 1950s, and that drew curiosity in her. Here, she describes what her service projects were like and how she […]
When Don Nash and his daughter Cassidy first heard the term “volunteer vacation”, it seemed like a contradiction to them. Then, they heard about Global Volunteers’ service program with the Blackfeet Nation and thought it would be a good opportunity to give back as well as learn more about Don’s Native American heritage. They chose […]
Volunteer Team Leader Michael Harris first served with Global Volunteers in 2016 with his daughter, Alyssa. He immediately sought out additional ways to stay involved with Global Volunteers and attended Team Leader Training that same year. He has since led teams in Montana every summer (except during the COVID pandemic). Mike is a retired educator […]
In this moving story of her experience in service with the Blackfeet in Montana, Jessica Kohn of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shares why she sought to serve in this location, dating back to a childhood promise. In what she describes as a life-changing experience, she talks about approaching this experience with a beginner’s mind, without assumptions or […]
Having wanted to join the Peace Corps when she was younger, as a retiree Chriss Hayden was still looking for a meaningful way to volunteer. She found serving on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana was the perfect way to immerse herself in a culture to be able to learn about it. Chriss prepared and served […]
New York mother and retail professional Tenley Zinke recalls her excitement of discovering new project opportunities each day as a Montana volunteer. A highlight: Getting to meet local people in their typical daily routines. Read on for her description of a day’s volunteering schedule in Montana. By Tenley Zinke Volunteering on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation […]
The Blackfeet Reservation Program in Montana was initiated in 1999 by Global Volunteers Co-Founder Michele Gran and Blackfeet elder Dorothy Still Smoking. 2021 marks the 22nd year of Global Volunteers’ partnership with the Blackfeet Nation. Because of the pandemic, we were unable to serve on the reservation during 2020. But now, our community partners on […]
From the De La Salle Blackfeet School in Browning, Montana on the Blackfeet Reservation, our community partner Brother Dale Mooney sends Christmas greetings, with a reference to the comfort we seek in times of trouble. In a community suffering so many losses in 2020, he offers a “song to sing in our hearts.” In these […]
We’re always grateful for volunteers’ emails and letters of thanks and descriptions of their service. Many are surprised by how deeply and authentically they’re experienced the culture of the partner community. Some volunteers, such as Tenley Zinke who writes here – gain life-changing perspectives. A mother of two daughters, Tenley learned about Native American tribes […]