Blackfeet remember massacre of Heavy Runner band

Tuesday, January 23, 2007  

The Blackfeet Community College is honoring the victims of the January 23, 1870, massacre of Chief Heavy Runner and his band.

The U.S. Calvary killed Heavy Runner and more than 170 people even though he was considered peaceful. The soldiers had been looking for Mountain Chief's band in order to punish Owl Chief, who had killed his non-Indian attacker.

To mark the event, the college held a presentation on Monday about Heavy Runner and the events that led to the attack. Today, the public is invited to the site of the massacre, near the town of Shelby.

Lea Whitford, the chair of the Blackfeet Studies Department, hopes to create a permanent memorial at the site.

Get the Story:
Blackfeet remember ancestors killed in Bear River Massacre (The Great Falls Tribune 1/23)