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   #    Entered Union     Year Settled 41st          Nov. 8, 1889       1809  Nickname Treasure State  Rank  Population 44th          967,440  Rank  Square Miles 4th      147,042  State Bird  State Flower  State Tree  State Motto Oro y plata     Gold and silver  Montana is known as "Big Sky Country". The members of the Lewis and Clark expedition were the first white explorers known to have set foot in Montana. It joined the United States in 1889 as the 41st state.  The name Montana comes from the Spanish word Montana, meaning "mountainous," although the eastern part of the state consists of gently rolling pastureland. The Anaconda Company had a stranglehold on the state's copper industry for about 100 years, but today Montana is known as a tourist destination for those drawn to its many trout streams and wide open spaces. Its capital is Helena.  Lincoln Created the Montana Territory It was a place rich in grazing land for cattle and sheep, with long valleys and high mountains, producing gold and copper. On May 26, 1864, President Lincoln signed an act making it a territory of the U.S. What is it? It's the wide-open spaces of the state of Montana, often called "Big Sky Country."  During the dark days of the Civil War, Lincoln looked away from the fighting momentarily and decided the area now known as Montana needed governing. But violent clashes were to occur in the new territory before it became the 41st state in the Union on November 8, 1889. Lewis was thrilled to see the enormous waterfall, the Great Falls of the Missouri. It was 900 feet wide and 80 feet high with a "beautiful rainbow" just above the spray. Lewis called it "the grandest sight" he "ever beheld." More importantly, it meant that he and Clark had chosen the right fork in the Missouri River. All winter long they had been talking with Native Americans about a water route across the west. The Native Americans had described the territory in detail, including important landmarks like the waterfall in front of Lewis.  Now it was time for the portage (the carrying of goods over an obstacle): Lewis and Clark's expedition party needed to carry their canoes and supplies around the waterfalls. Before they saw the Great Falls, Lewis and Clark thought the portage would be less than a mile. As Lewis scouted further, he found four more waterfalls and realized that the portage would be much longer.  In 1910, Congress established Glacier National Park in Montana. Conservationist George Bird Grinnell played a key role in the creation of this park in order to preserve the land's natural beauty. Indians have always revered this region. The Blackfeet, Salish, and Kootenai Indians, who have lived in the area for hundreds of years, consider it a sacred place.  Glacier National Park is named for the glaciers that produced its landscape. A glacier is a moving mass of snow and ice. It forms when more snow falls each winter than melts in the summer. The snow accumulates and presses the layers below it into ice. The bottom layer of ice becomes flexible and therefore allows the glacier to move.  As it moves, a glacier picks up rock and gravel. With this mixture of debris, it scours and sculptures the land it moves across. This is how, over thousands of years, Glacier National Park got all its valleys, sharp mountain peaks, and lakes. There are more than 50 glaciers in the park today, though they are smaller than the huge ones that existed 20,000 years ago.  In addition to its glaciers, mountains, and valleys, Glacier National Park covers approximately 1.4 million acres and includes 200 lakes and streams. The park is also home to many different types of wildlife, including bison, black and grizzly bear, moose, golden and bald eagle, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, and whitetail and mule deer.  Do you know the story of the famous Battle at Little Big Horn, Montana?  The United States wanted to build a road through Native American lands in Montana because gold had been discovered in the area of Little Big Horn. In 1876, General George Custer and his men were sent to make the Native Americans give up the land, even though the U.S. had guaranteed that it belonged to them.  There was a battle and the Northern Cheyenne and other Native Americans defeated Custer. It was a crushing blow, and five months later, the U.S. attacked again. This time, the Cheyenne surrendered, and they were sent to a reservation in Oklahoma. Within two months of their arrival, two-thirds of the tribe became sick and many died. Chief Dull Knife and other Northern Cheyenne leaders pleaded for a reservation for their people back in Montana, but the U.S. refused them.  Chief Dull Knife was determined to return to Montana. In 1878, he and Little Wolf (another chief of the Northern Cheyenne) led what was left of their people and traveled more than 400 miles, managing to defeat or avoid the various Army units sent to bring them back to Oklahoma. They broke up into two groups -- one led by Dull Knife and the other by Little Wolf -- but both were eventually caught.  Those led by Little Wolf were allowed to remain in Montana, but Dull Knife and his group were imprisoned. When they refused to return to Oklahoma, an attempt was made to starve them into obeying. They made a daring escape, in which many were killed and recaptured, but Dull Knife and others got away and made it to the safety of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.  Eventually a reservation was established for the Northern Cheyenne in Montana, where Dull Knife and his people were finally allowed to settle, rejoining Little Wolf's group. But sadly, by then, most of Dull Knife's people had died.  The Northern Cheyenne tell this story and other stories through their performing troupe Native Reign. The troupe combines traditional Native American dances with contemporary music to celebrate the history and traditions of the tribe.  The National Bison Range is located in the western part of the state. It is one of the oldest National Wildlife Refuges in the United States.  The Black Hills is a hilly region of pine forests, caves, lakes, canyons, and prairies that, from a distance, looks black. American Indians such as the Lakota considered the Black Hills to be a sacred area and hunting ground. By the late 19th century, however, the U.S. government drove the Indians out after white miners discovered gold in the hills.  Today, large parts of the Black Hills are park areas that tourists enjoy. They are also home to various wildlife, including bison, elk, coyotes, and prairie dogs. This is a special refuge for bison in particular because white men slaughtered so many in the 19th century that they almost became extinct at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then efforts have been made to protect them. Now bison herds have increased to the hundreds of thousands.  |
