Volunteer on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation

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“We’ve witnessed the best of the Blackfeet Community – strong, proud,
committed individuals who have transfixed us with their
life stories. I’ll always be touched by our time together, and grateful that
I experienced this culture.”
Stephanie Gordon, Blackfeet Reservation Volunteer

Be the Change. Be a Global Volunteer on the Blackfeet Reservation.

Experience life at the speed of wide open spaces.

In the high plains of northern Montana, alongside Glacier National Park, you serve as a needed and appreciated volunteer with the Blackfeet Nation. We’ve provided continuous service to the Blackfeet since 1999. In just one week, you learn about the Blackfeet history and culture while providing a genuine service to American Indian children and elders. See Covid-19 requirements.

Get Started in Montana

Volunteer on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Local time in Browning:

Call: 651-407-6100

Request Program Information

Quick Online Registration

FAQs:

Genuine development projects to help children and adults thrive. Exceptional service-learning for families, groups and individuals.

Community Projects

Repair and Maintenance

If you like working with your hands, this is for you! You might help renovate a classroom or repair a fence, plant a community garden, paint an elder’s home, or help erect a Sun Dance lodge. Volunteers of all ages and capabilities are useful, needed and welcomed!

Children’s Summer Programs

This is a high-energy assignment! Help supervise field trips, play and direct games, read story books, or teach a lesson on a topic of your choice. This is a tribally run summer day-camp for children five to 18, with the older kids helping to supervise the younger. Unfortunately, these children have little else to do on the reservation during the summer, and your help is greatly needed, important, and appreciated.

Elder Care

Do you enjoy bingo, playing cards, swapping stories, or nail polishing? Assist the activities director at the elder care center with stimulating projects and visit one-on-one with Blackfeet elders. And you can join the elder on day-trips to the local museums, parks, grocery store and casino. Or, help prepare, serve and deliver meals at the assisted living center on the reservation – cook and talk with community women.

Community Assistance

Work with the staff of the local food bank, stocking shelves, unloading deliveries and assisting community members in selecting healthy options. You may also help at a neighborhood thrift store, sorting and organizing donations of clothing and kitchen supplies, setting up merchandise displays and helping customers.

View team leader Cindy Murray’s photo gallery here!

Dates & Fees

Arrival and Departure

Leave the Details to us!

Global Volunteers’ service program officially begins with the Saturday evening meal and ends with the following Saturday breakfast. Please plan your flight into the Great Falls International airport (airport code GTF) before 3 pm on the Saturday your program starts. You may depart after 12 pm (noon) on the following Saturday. Your team leader will meet you within this arrival window. Please note there is no public transportation from Great Falls to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, so you must arrive before 3PM. However, you may choose to drive from home or the airport and meet your team in Browning, our host community. Whether you are flying or driving, if you are delayed, please contact us with your updated arrival plans. Your volunteer orientation materials includes directions to your team meeting place on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Food and Lodging

Rest and comfort for a productive program.

You may be surprised to find that living conditions on the reservation are very basic, and similar to those in other developing communities around the world. While accommodations may not be what you’re accustomed to (unless you regularly camp) you will be safe and comfortable in the dormitory-style rooms divided by gender. Individual bathrooms and showers. A separate family room may sometimes be available.

Bunk beds with provided bedding
Community room
Large kitchen for meal preparation
Limited Wi-fi available at lodging and some work sites
Cell phone coverage is generally good

Breakfast is self-serve at the lodging facility, with packed or provided lunch at the work sites. Evening meals are prepared by a local cook at the lodging facility. Food is typical American West fare – meat, potatoes, salads, and soups, or you may be served an American Indian “traditional meal” of Indian bread or Indian tacos. Vegetarian diets can be accommodated. Vegan and other restrictive diets cannot be specifically accommodated. Though some options may meet the dietary needs of those with vegan or other restrictive diets, it is recommended that these volunteers bring or plan to purchase some of their own food. Local water is safe; bottled water is available.

: Accommodations are dormitory style with bunk beds and shared bathrooms.

: Prepare meals as a team on a service program in Montana.

: Volunteers prepare meals together in the industrial kitchen.

: Traditional dishes are simple and hearty.

Health and Safety

Your safety is our priority.

Your health, safety and security as a volunteer on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation are our top priority. Your lodging, food and transportation are provided always with a mind to help you ensure your health, safety and security while at the work site and lodging facility. Your team leader is trained in CPR and first aid. Read more about health and safety here.

Summer days on the plains of Montana can get hot. Sunburn and dehydration can be risks, so we urge you to pack sunscreen, a wide-brimmed hat and a water bottle. It is unlikely that you will encounter wild animals or poisonous insects or snakes at the work sites or at lodging facilities. However, stray dogs may be present throughout the Blackfeet Reservation, and we encourage you not to pet them due to fleas and other potential issues. We strongly recommend you consult your physician, public health clinic and/or travel clinic for detailed travel health information, and to make sure your tetanus and other vaccinations are up to date.

In order to participate in this service program, our hosts require a COVID-19 vaccination at least 2 weeks in advance and a negative at-home rapid test upon arrival. Click here for Global Volunteers’ Covid 19 Policy for Service Programs in the U.S. and Abroad.

The Blackfeet Reservation requires all adult volunteers to provide a current police background check and clearance through the national sex offender registry prior to volunteering. These background checks must be current, and not obtained until two months prior to your program start date. More details and instructions will be provided after registering for a program.

Program Mobility:
Accurately assess your functional mobility. Our work assignments and partner communities require varying levels of physical stamina and mobility. After you register, you will be asked about your physical capabilities relating to your mobility. Please answer the questions honestly.

Required Mobility for Montana: Mobile – Walk 1 mile, climb 5 flights of stairs, walk on uneven terrain, and get on and off buses and trains independently.

Team Leaders

Welcome to the Reservation!

Your team leader is a Global Volunteers staff member or alumna who has completed our comprehensive team leader training and is skilled in leading diverse groups of people. All team leaders are certified in CPR and First Aid, and have served on or led multiple service programs – some up to 50 times and more! Further, they’re evaluated by the volunteers on each service program, and must consistently achieve a high level of performance in order to continue leading Global Volunteers teams. All of our team leaders are exceptional and upbeat people. You’ll receive background information on your team leader approximately four weeks before your Blackfeet service program begins.

“The team leader was nothing short of spectacular. I would really enjoy the opportunity to work with her again, her style was perfect.”
– Molly Dorr, Montana Blackfeet Indian Reservation Volunteer

Free Time

So much to see and learn!

Ample time is provided after the work day to enjoy local natural and cultural activities on and around the Blackfeet Indian Reservation – which include museum visits, hiking local trails, horseback riding, golfing, fishing, souvenir shopping, casino gaming, and participating in community events and celebrations. Volunteers often attend traditional Indian “sweats,” sun dances, pow-wows and rodeos. As a Global Volunteer on the Indian Reservation, you have the unique opportunity to experience daily life as a “non-tourist” and participate in daily activities with local residents. While our non-profit status prevents us from organizing free-time activities, tours of Glacier National Park can be arranged for days before or after the service program. In addition, car rental agencies are located close by in East Glacier.

Family Volunteering

The family that serves together learns together.

Serving on the reservation is a most unique and fulfilling family opportunity. Children as young as 8 can participate in community work projects, team meetings and free time, but always under the direct supervision of their parent or guardian. Most non-Indians in the U.S. never have the opportunity to experience “rez life” personally. As Global Volunteers, you and your children are acquainted with the cultural differences and similarities between Native Americans and Non-Indians, and gain respect for those living within the limitations of economic poverty. Stereotypes are dispelled, assumptions are challenged, friendships are made. You’re exposed to the Blackfeet language, traditions and legacy of the early American settlers in Indian territory.

Each day, you provide a needed service – be it serving reduced-cost meals to senior residents, painting or refurbishing community buildings, landscaping public areas, supervising and entertaining children, or visiting with elders in the Blackfeet care center. Together with your teammates, you explore what it’s like to live in wide-open spaces, practice customs passed down through generations, attend to the natural rhythms of earth, wind and sky, and listen to the wisdom of the Great Spirit.

Service programs are conveniently scheduled during summer break from school. Parents and guardians are expected to supervise their child volunteers at all times, and collaborate with our team leader and local partners to maximize the service experience for everyone. In this way, youth form a rare, personal perspective of this unique culture beyond textbook depictions and legends. What’s more, they may gain life-long friends in one of the country’s least-understood populations.

Group Volunteering

An exceptional group volunteering experience!

Many student and corporate groups have volunteered with Global Volunteers to learn first-hand about Blackfeet Culture and to strengthen their commitment to community service and teamwork. Because of the wide variety of volunteer projects with the Blackfeet Nation, every member of your group can fully engage their unique skills and interests in meaningful service. We work with you to customize your program to learn about each other in a non-traditional way as an intact volunteer team. With advanced preparation, you can be certain that your unique contributions on genuine development projects optimize your volunteering.

For instance, members of a worldwide healthcare consulting company united on the Blackfeet Reservation for a week of collegiality and service. Employees who knew of each other only through the company directory planted gardens, painted fences and rode horseback together. A residential program for high school students select team members each summer to serve and learn with the Blackfeet people and to gain self-esteem through teamwork. Other student groups return year after year to learn about Blackfeet history, language, culture and modern life in a decidedly “non-tourist” manner.

Working with local teens, tribal leaders, elders and children, you gain a rare, “insider” perspective of daily life on on Indian Reservation. Comparing notes with your teammates at the end of the day around the campfire, you reflect on the experience of volunteering together and experiencing the American Indian culture as you live it.

Volunteering on an American Indian Reservation for high school and college groups

Details on group volunteering on an American Indian Reservation

“The volunteers bring their skills, insights, and helping hands to the reservation. But, most important, they bring friendship, curiosity, and compassion. We work together to close the gap of understanding between the Indian and White cultures, and it’s very good.”

Bob Tail FeathersBlackfeet American Indian

“They’re a hard-working group – those Global Volunteers. We really appreciate everything they do for us. But it’s not all work all day. We have some good times, too. They know how to laugh and joke as much as we do. Global Volunteers is part of our community.”

Connie BremnerBlackfeet American Indian Community Partner

“The ladies at the front desk at the community college taught us how to say “white woman” in the Blackfeet language – Napi Anki (Na bee ah gee) and “white man” – Napi Kaan (Napigwan). They were patient, and sincerely interested in sharing their language.”

Joanna WhiteBlackfeet Reservation Volunteer

“One small gesture followed by another and another- eventually a basis for trust and understanding. The combined and incremental efforts of all Global Volunteers over time truly makes the lasting difference.”

Kerry HaggertyBlackfeet Reservation Volunteer

“We certainly had an exposure to American Indian culture and community which I could not have experienced without all the bridges built by Global Volunteers. I was deeply impressed by the matched labor approach. I know we’ll be back.”

Ann DorrBlackfeet Reservation Volunteer

“After this program I have a profound sense of needing to make the world better. In my busy life, I miss opportunities to help people. I think, holy smokes, I’m so lucky. Through volunteering, you kinda get disrupted (in a good way).”

Gabe HoffmanMontana Volunteer

Volunteer Voices: What Volunteers Say About Serving on the Blackfeet Reservation

Volunteer American Indian Reservation Stories

May 1, 2023

Volunteer on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation

Be the Change. Be a Global Volunteer on the Blackfeet Reservation.

Get Started in Montana

FAQs:

Repair and Maintenance

Children’s Summer Programs

Elder Care

Community Assistance

Upcoming Volunteer Dates in Blackfeet Reservation, Montana

Registration is quick and easy!

Leave the Details to us!

Rest and comfort for a productive program.

Your safety is our priority.

Welcome to the Reservation!

So much to see and learn!

The family that serves together learns together.

An exceptional group volunteering experience!

Volunteer Voices: What Volunteers Say About Serving on the Blackfeet Reservation

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Special Needs Teacher Describes Serving at Summer Camp for Blackfeet Children

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