Events
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Mayor’s Cup Race | |
Arts in the Park | |
Appreciation Picnic | |
| | Montana Cancer Control | |
Kind to Animals | |
Friends of Pikuni | |
Green GrassBull Animal Rescue | |
The Blackfeet Reservation's Annual Celebrations
Browning - July 10th-13th, 2008
Heart Butte - August 7th-10th, 2008
The Blackfeet Nation's 57th Annual North American Indian Days
The celebration in Browning is always held the second week in July for four days. It is an intriguing way to see authentic Blackfeet traditions. Tipis are pitched on the powwow grounds for four days of contest dancing, games, a number of sports events and socializing. Comprising one of the largest gatherings of United States and Canadian tribes, the celebration is an unforgettable experience. For more information contact Blackfeet Planning at 406-338-7406.
The 17th Annual Heart Butte Society Celebration
This annual four day celebration takes place the second week in August and is 26 miles south of Browning in the community of Heart Butte, which is located on the Blackfeet Reservation. For more information contact Pat Calf Boss Ribs Jr., daytime 406-338-2211 and evening 406-338-2086.
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Browning's Annual Community Celebration Day
Friday of North American Indian Days
July 11, 2008
Registration for these activities can be done at City Hall. Call 406-338-2344, send an e-mail, write PO Box 469, Browning, MT 59417 or register in person at 124 2nd Avenue N.W.
Mayor’s Cup Walk/Race
Hosted by the Town of Browning and the Antelope Society
9:00 a.m. at City Park
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Mayor’s Cup
- 1-mile walk
- 1-mile run
- 3-mile run
- 5-mile run
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Age Brackets
Male and Female
- 10 and under - $1.00
- 11-18 - $3.00
- 19-55 - $5.00
- 56 and over – $2.00
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Prizes
- For all 1st placers, each category-event
- For all 2nd placers, each category-event
- For all 3rd placers, each category-event
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Picnic Lunch
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Horse Shoe Tournament
- Singles and Doubles
- $10.00 single
- $25.00 team
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Second Annual Arts in the Park
Mini Arbor next to Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning Montana
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Second annual Arts in the Park attracts international crowd.
Glacier Reporter, July 19, 2007.
It was a two-day event, and organizers say some 213 people signed the guest book at the second annual Arts in the Park celebration July 11-12 in Browning. Set next to the Museum of the Plains Indian, the event featured artists and storytellers set up in tipis while other artists and craftspeople were located in screened kiosks set up around the mini-arbor. Inside the arbor, a series of modern and traditional bands offered up aural culture while the visual artists arrayed around the park.
Second annual Arts in the Park event will be bigger and better
Glacier Reporter, June 21, 2007
This year's edition of Arts in the Park is bigger and better than ever, say event organizers. While last year's Arts celebration attracted large numbers of visitors in the one day it ran, people will have two full days to enjoy the offerings at and around the mini-arbor in Browning in the two days leading up to North American Indian Days.
The Second Annual Arts in the Park will kick off Wednesday, July 11, from 12 to 8 p.m. and again on Thursday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Arts in the Park event provides local area artists, craft makers, food vendors, musicians, Blackfeet storytellers and activity leaders the chance to showcase their talent.
The featured artist for 2007 is Gary Schildt from East Glacier Park. The location of this year's festival will again be at the Blackfeet Visitor and Information Center's mini-arbor by the Museum of the Plains Indian. Admission buttons will soon be on sale.
Arts organizers are looking for storytellers, art and cultural activity providers, security and musicians (contemporary and drum groups). Registration is open for food and artist vendors. All products must be authentic Blackfeet or locally made.
2nd Annual Arts in the Park Poster - PDF 2MB
Hundreds attend Arts in the Park.
Glacier Reporter, July 13, 2006.
Light breezes stirred a series of colorful canopies Thursday, July 6, as a steady stream of visitors curiously came inside the mini-arbor area of the Museum of the Plains Indian. The first annual Arts in the Park featured a total of 11 Blackfeet artists in temporary residence, as well as three activity booths, two musical groups and storytellers.
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Browning Area Chamber of Commerce
Customer Appreciation Picnic
Browning - August 28, 2007
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The Browning Area Chamber of Commerce had the Customer Appreciation Picnic on August 28, 2007 from Noon-2:00 p.m.at Browning's City Park.
It may be the seventh time business owners in Browning have shown their appreciation by holding a picnic downtown, but the Aug. 28 event this year is the first time it's been organized by the Browning Area Chamber of Commerce.
According to Johnel Barcus of the Chamber, planning began three months ago for the annual Customer Appreciation Picnic and it is all part of their "Buy Local" campaign. Members of the Browning Chamber donated time, food and money for this year's event, and according to Barcus some 400 picnickers were served lunch.
"The Chamber brings private businesses together for an effort to help the community progress economically," she explained. "Nationally, small businesses are the largest employers although that's not the case here."
For a community to be economically viable, Barcus said, each dollar should turn over within that community at least eight times before it leaves. In Browning, however, dollars don't even turn over once before they leave. According to her figures, a dollar in Browning returns only about 87¢ before going someplace else.
"There's a lot that goes away," she said, "so we need to keep the money here to make the community economically viable.
The Chamber has regular meetings the third Wednesday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Town of Browning Conference Room. All businesses and interested individuals from the Blackfeet Indian Reservation are invited to come. For more information on how you can be involved, please contact the Browning Community Development Corporation, 406-338-4015, e-mail jbarcusbcdc@yahoo.com.
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Contacts:
K. Hope Kiffin, MTCCC Communications Coordinator – 406-549-2848 x 12, khope@mrss-mt.gov
Sue Miller, Cancer Control Section – 406-444-3624, sumiller@mt.gov
By uniting, we can advance cancer prevention and control, enhance our medical system, and improve the quality of life for cancer survivors. Visit www.cancer.mt.gov
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Be Kind to Animals
American Humane created Be Kind to Animals Week in 1915 to celebrate the unique bond between humans and animals. 89 years later this special week still focuses on the companionship, friendship, and love pets bring to our lives -- and the debt humankind owes to all animals.
Hundreds of animal shelters throughout the country hold special events to raise awareness, and people everywhere -- young and old -- got involved to learn about the amazing role animals play in our lives. Be Kind to Animals Week is a great time to promote our nation’s humane societies and animal shelters and to encourage everyone to get involved to make a difference in the life of one animal or the lives of many.
Friends of E-mee-tah & Poos of Browning (Blackfeet Indian words for dog and cat) was created as a result of the great need for dog and cat rescue on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Since it’s inception, Friends has committed nearly $20,000 directly to medical needs of dogs and cats on the Blackfeet Reservation, the Town of Browning, and the town of Cut Bank – all in Glacier County, Montana. Friends has worked directly with the Blackfeet Tribe and the Town of Browning in the sponsoring of free spay neuter clinics (carried out by the Montana Spay Neuter Task Force). Friends of Ee-mee-tah & Poos is always in need of donations, dog food, collars and leashes, and people willing to adopt dogs and cats. Persons willing to help can reach us at: Friends of Ee-mee-tah & Poos, PO Box 1754, Browning, Montana 59417.
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Green Grass Bull Animal Rescue
Nearly 200 dogs, cats spayed and neutered at weekend clinic at BMS.
Glacier Reporter, November 8, 2007
As of Monday, Nov. 5, the numbers weren't completely figured, but Cheri Valdovino estimated that at least 190 dogs and cats were spayed and neutered at Browning Middle School last weekend. It was the third spay-neuter clinic held in Browning in the last 13 months.
Although a smaller number of vets came this time, the three who came did a magnificent job, and they were ably assisted by a large number of local volunteers who checked pets in and made sure everything was done correctly.
Valdovino said she's already seen the impact of the last three clinics in lower numbers of stray and ownerless pets around the Blackfeet Reservation. "I'm happy to have been able to work with the Montana Spay Neuter Task Force, the Spay-Neuter Clinic and the community, and I look forward to working with them again at the next clinic," she said.
Blackfeet Country's next spay-neuter clinic will be coming sometime this April, she added.
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Volunteers and vets spay and neuter more than 200 animals at BMS clinic.
Glacier Reporter, July 12, 2007
By the count taken Sunday night, July 2, a total of six volunteer veterinarians, together with their veterinary technicians and a slew of local volunteers, had spayed and neutered some 218 dogs and cats from around Blackfeet Country. "We had a great turnout, with donations from all the businesses," said Roxanne Demarce, one of the volunteer organizers of the second Spay Neuter Clinic held in Browning within the last year.
Those who arrived with dogs, cats, kittens and puppies to "fix" June 30 or July 1 had already scheduled appointments before coming to the clinic site at Browning Middle School. Local volunteers helped with the intake process and caging the animals for their turn. Dogs and cats were kept at opposite ends of the BMS gym.
"We had nearly twice the number of cats as we did dogs," said Demarce, who noted the entire scene was created Friday evening. Beginning around 5 p.m., the volunteer docs and techs arrived in a pair of trucks and began unloading their equipment. "The time for setup takes a while," Demarce said. They were done around 9 p.m., and ready for dinner provided by Sandra Watt and Gary Schildt.
The doors opened around 7 a.m. Saturday morning, with breakfast provided by Roxanne and a dozen oxygen bottles donated by Eagle Calf Medical Supplies. The current crew of Global Volunteers lent a hand.
"It should make a substantial impact on the animal population," said Demarce of the clinic's success.
"It is said that a community can be understood based on the manner in which they treat their four-legged friends," added organizer Nikki Hannon, director of the Blackfeet Academy. "If this is true, the residents of the Blackfeet reservation are making significant efforts to be understood based on care and respect. Including pet owners, over 50 volunteers came together for the good of our four-legged friends."
"Browning is a community where we of the task force feel very much appreciated," said Montana Spay Neuter Task Force board member Gina Weist.
Demarce said she hopes to organize another clinic for next fall. She wonders where the money will come from, but she is encouraged in the Green Grass Bull Animal Rescue having raised $3,000 for this summer's installment.
"With continued support from the Browning community, the Green Grass Bull Animal Rescue will be able to coordinate another Spay and Neuter clinic in the winter of 2007," Hannon said.
If you would like to get involved with the Green Grass Bull Animal Rescue, please contact Nikki Hannon at 338-4380 for more information, or call City Hall at 338-2344 and leave a message.
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Ending the 'cycle of violence,' Montana Spay- Neuter volunteers return to Blackfeet Country
Glacier Reporter, October 19, 2006
While it's true that nearly 300 dogs and cats, in a rough count, were spayed and neutered at Browning Middle School
Saturday and Sunday last week, altering pets is hardly the goal set by the Montana Spay Neuter Task Force. "It's the cycle of violence," explained Jean Atthowe of the MSNTF. "To live with animals that are being abused is not respecting life in general. It's a major issue for everyplace, and that's the task force's mission."
It's been 10 years since the MSNTF came to the Blackfeet Reservation, with the first visit having taken place in 1996. That event featured volunteers in a makeshift operating facility located in Pete Berger's basement.
This year the MSNTF came to town with four vets and six vet technicians. Split into two groups, half took on dogs and the other half cats that people brought in to the gym at BMS. The event was well organized, with canines on one side of the gym and felines on the other. Every cat and every dog was fitted with a collar while the carrying crates were similarly identified.
Owners were encouraged to stick around while the surgery took place, usually a matter of several minutes, in order to be with their animals as they came out from under anesthesia. No cat or dog was allowed to leave until everyone was sure it would recover and the owner given post-surgery instructions to take home.
Although the number of dogs and cats seen by the volunteers at BMS is unofficial, there is more than just that total coming back from the information gathered at the event. Such items as whether the owner has ever had a pet spayed or neutered before will shed light on the situation in Browning, said Atthowe. The results may be surprising, she said, noting 52 percent of Butte's citizenry hadn't ever had a pet fixed before, and 68 percent of Anaconda's pet owners are in the same boat.
"We're not a clinic," said Atthowe. "We're more a social organization. It's an 'event' because it involves the entire community; everyone contributes." Learning that the event had been cancelled for lack of funding, Atthowe said MSNTF supplied funding itself to hold it anyway, and in about a week the clinic was happening.
Dr. Terry Yunker, who splits his time between Oklahoma and Whitefish, was the doctor most wanted because of his speed in spaying and neutering cats. He was joined by Dr. Julie Kappes of Helena, Dr. Dave Weinandy of Ronan and Dr. Tia Nelson of Helena. On the second day of the event, Dr. Robert Shampo of Great Falls and Dr. Ethel Johnson of Grasswinds Veterinary Clinic at Meriwether joined the action.
"We had good volunteers and wonderful kids who stayed at their posts all day long in dog and cat recovery," said Atthowe of the local response. "There were a number of elders there, too," she said, adding Blackfeet elder Al Potts was on hand several times to bless the proceedings.
From her experience in Blackfeet Country a decade ago, Atthowe noted two important differences between then and now. The animals coming into the clinic were in better overall condition than before, and, driving around town, the number of strays she saw on the streets was not as bad as in the past. "So we made a difference back then, but it was on its way downhill," she said.
"It was a tremendous effort for only having a week and a half notice," said local organizer Roxanne DeMarce. She said Nikki Hannon, Carol Conway and Vanessa Kipp were invaluable in setting up the appointments while Siyeh Development and KSEN provided free advertising. Some of the volunteers she mentioned included Blackfeet legal advisor Sandra Watt and Blackfeet artist Gary Schildt, as well as Denise Salois who all contributed to the event.
DeMarce said people who went to BMS can call her for the papers that go with having their pets vaccinated for rabies. To get that paperwork, call Roxanne at 338-7733.
Asked about the future, Atthowe said she hopes all the major players in Blackfeet Country can come together to support another event in about six months. Each surgical team, which includes a vet, a vet tech and the supplies they need to do their jobs, costs about $750 per day.
"Most of the reservations around the state are funding the spay-neuter events," she said. "The big cities are all funding the full cost of surgery while the smaller towns fund most, but not all, of the costs," she said. Those smaller entities often hold fundraisers to pay for additional surgical teams.
"I'd like to see the schools, Town of Browning, the Blackfeet Tribe, IHS and the BIA get together for the funding for Phase Two," said Atthowe.
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To have an event that is located in or near Browning posted to this website
please send us an email,
call 406-338-2344
fax 406-338-2605
or write the Town of Browning at 124 2nd Avenue N.W., PO Box 469,
Browning, Montana 59417-0469.
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