The five interviewees recorded for this
project in 2006 describe the Badger-Two Medicine area located by the Blackfeet
Reservation and Glacier National Park in Montana. They discuss their lives in
the area from early homestead years up to current land use controversies,
1930-2006.
Repository:
University of Montana-Missoula
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special
Collections
The Badger-Two Medicine area is a 200 square mile portion of the Lewis
and Clark Forest that is adjacent to the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier
National Park. It is sacred ground for the Blackfeet tribe. The Treaty of 1896
gives Blackfeet tribal members the right to hunt and fish the area in
accordance with state law and to cut wood for domestic use. The Blackfeet have
battled to protect Badger-Two Medicine by keeping the area roadless and by
fighting proposed oil and gas drilling all along the Front, which is managed
largely by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM). The Blackfeet have been assisted by conservation groups,
preservationists (including the National Trust for Historic Preservation),
outdoor sportsmen, ranchers and business owners.
Approximately 93,000 acres are currently recognized as eligible for
the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a traditional cultural
district (TCD), but proponents continue to lobby to have the entire Badger-Two
Medicine area recognized as an eligible TCD.
In January 2011, a federal district judge cleared the roadblock on the
U.S. Forest Service's Badger-Two Medicine travel plan. The plan allows
motorized access on eight miles of established trails and bans all snowmobile
travel.
Content Description
The five interviewees recorded by interviewer David Brooks in 2006
describe the Badger-Two Medicine area located in the Lewis and Clark Forest
adjacent to the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier National Park in Montana.
They discuss their lives in the area from early homestead years up to present
land use controversies including proposed wilderness designation. The time
periods discussed in these interviews range from the 1930s to 2006. The
interviewees' occupations include Forest Service laborer and fire fighter,
outfitter and guide, and ranch owner.
David Brooks, the interviewer, began doing oral history interviews as
an Anthropology Department Master's student at The University of
Montana-Missoula. He received a Matthew Hansen Award to conduct the Badger-Two
Medicine interviews, which he proposed because of his academic interest in
environmental history.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of
Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and
The University of Montana-Missoula.
Restrictions on Use :
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and
any other applicable statutes. Copyright transferred to The University of
Montana-Missoula.
Preferred Citation :
[Name of interviewee], OH 416, Badger-Two Medicine Oral History
Project, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library,
The University of Montana-Missoula.
Administrative Information
Custodial History :
David Brooks held the interviews until their donation to Archives and
Special Collections.
Acquisition Information :
Donated by David Brooks and each interviewee, 2006.
Processing Note :
David Brooks recorded the interviews with digital equipment. Archives
staff downloaded the interviews to the Archives & Special Collections
server, made CD use copies, and transcribed the interviews.
Detailed Description of the Collection
OH 416-01: Art and Anna Trenkle, 2006 August
8
Sound Recording, digital,
687 MB, Wav
Transcript, 20 leaves
Art Trenkle names and describes many of the original homesteaders
in the Badger-Two Medicine area; Mr. Trenkle describes growing up on the Rising
Wolf Ranch and his family’s outfitting business and early tourism in the area.
He discusses natural resource use (timber, game, minerals, etc.) in the area
and his opinions on a possible oil drilling project; as well as his experiences
as a firefighter and laborer for the Forest Service.
OH 416-02: Rick Lucke, 2006 August
21
Sound Recording, digital,
655 MB, Wav
Transcript, 19 leaves
Rick Lucke explains the history of the Badger-Two Medicine area
and previous homesteaders. He describes his family outfitting business and
experiences, and shares stories about past residents of the area. Lucke gives
his opinion on motorized vehicle usage in the Badger-Two Medicine and its
effects on wildlife and the landscape.
OH 416-03: James Stewart, 2006 September
17
Sound Recording, digital,
489 MB, Wav
Transcript, 13 leaves
Stewart lists past owners of the Rising Wolf Ranch and their
histories. He describes the history of land usage at Rising Wolf and the
Badger-Two Medicine. Stewart explains his opinion about motorized vehicle
abuse. Stewert describes his land donation to the Nature Conservancy,
alterations made to the original Rising Wolf Ranch buildings and fire/flood
damages, and ends with hunting and fishing restrictions in the area.
OH 416-04: Hugo Johnson, 2006 September
17
Sound Recording, digital,
227 MB, Wav
Transcript, 8 leaves
Hugo Johnson tells about growing up in the Badger-Two Medicine
area as a guide in a family of outfitters. He explains his father's work on the
crew that built the first roads into the area. Johnson talks about the effects
of grazing in the area, as well as other uses of natural resources (possible
drilling for oil and gas), which leads him to a discussion of his trip to
Washington, with other residents, to lobby for designating Badger-Two Medicine
as a wilderness area. Throughout the interview, Johnson discusses the use of
ATVs in the area and his opposition to this activity.
OH 416-05: Dan Smiley, 2006 September
16
Sound Recording, digital,
697 MB, Wav
Transcript, 20 leaves
Dan Smiley discusses the history of the Badger-Two Medicine area
including Native American activities, homesteading, 1910 fire and the Jennings
homestead/dude ranch. He talks about ranch life, livestock, and grazing
practices, as well as hunting and trapping practices from earlier times,
focusing on the experiences of George Jennings. He discusses the present
decline in outfitting businesses, the efforts to designate the area as a
protected wilderness, and the impacts of overuse on the land.
Subjects
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings. Transcripts of the
interviews were created by Archives staff.
Corporate Names :
Rising
Wolf Ranch (Mont.)--History
United
States. Forest Service--Officials and employees
