Blackfeet sisters work on healing community with their land

KRTV By: Owen Skornik-Hayes

Posted 12:02 PM, Apr 03, 2023

and last updated 9:46 AM, Apr 21, 2023

BROWNING — A group of siblings living on the Blackfeet Reservation are working together to bring their community together using the power of land and identity.

Lynn Madplume is currently enrolled in college, pursuing a PhD in Indigenous Public Health. As part of her dissertation, she is working on securing grants which would be used to restore her families land.

“This land has been in our family for generations. As we lost some of our elders, it fell into disrepair,” says Lynn

Lynn hopes to repair their riding arena, and invite the entire community to utilize the space as a healing ground for those in transitional phases of life.

Though the grants would help significantly, Madplume wishes to move forward with her plans even if she is unable to secure additional funding.

“We are going to make it happen, we know we can host barrel races this summer, and let the kids come out and compete and ride,” says Lynn.

“There is a lot of trauma in our history,” says Lynn’s sister Erika Madplume. “We need spaces to heal that void, and we hope if this is successful, we can build more land camps just like this all over the reservation.”

By allowing those on the land to come together, share stories, and fill in missing pieces of knowledge and identity, Lynn and her sisters believe the entire community can prosper.