Old Agency 1880-1894

The board blames a hard winter. The Blackfeet Nation's own markers, a third of a mile south at Ii-ka-tais-tsi-no'p, Old Ration Place, say the agency failed. By 1883 the buffalo were gone, and the Piegan, some 2,500 people, depended on rations that ran far short; a new agent, Major Allen, arrived in the midst of it and was soon issuing about a seventh of a ration. The board counts about 500 dead and the Nation more than 600, buried on Ghost Ridge. Remains taken from Old Agency went to the American Museum of Natural History, which returned them.

What the plaque says

Old Agency 1880-1894 The second Indian Agency on the Blackfeet Reservation was built at Old Agency in 1879. Agent John Young moved the buildings from Upper Badger Creek with help from the Blackfeet Indians. Both men and women dug cellars, hauled stone and mixed mortar. The women covered the exterior with lime from Heart Butte. Built in stockade shape, the Agency had two bastions at diagonal corners to protect against enemy attack. The Indians called it "Old Ration Place" after the government began issuing rations. The "Starvation Winter" of 1883-1884 took the lives of about 500 Blackfeet Indians who had been camping in the vicinity of Old Agency. This tragic event was the result of an inadequate supply of government rations during an exceptionally hard winter. In 1894, after the Great Northern Railway had extended its tracks across the Reservation, the Agency moved to Willow Creek at the present site in Browning. Today, the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning houses a fine collection of artifacts that illustrate Blackfeet culture before and after the establishment of the Reservation. Historical Marker #8 Blackfeet Nation Old Agency Site In 1879, the Blackfeet agency was moved to this site from a previous site south of here to encourage the Blackfeet to take up farming. Old Agency was also the site of where over 600 Blackfeet starved to death, which is known as "The Starvation Winter Site." The agency was moved to Browning in 1895. Historical Marker #9 Blackfeet Nation Ration Day With the buffalo gone the Indian was completely dependant on the Indian Agency. Food rations of meat and a variety of foods and materials were issued once a week per family. Historical Marker #10 Blackfeet Nation Ghost Ridge With the disappearance of the buffalo in 1883, the entire tribe depended on the Agency for food. The agency failed to provide adequate rations during that winter, which resulted in over 600 tribal members starving to death. They were buried along the south ridge of the agency, which was called "Ghost Ridge, or the Country of the Dead by the Blackfeet."

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Museum of the Plains Indian — 17 mi
  A federal museum on the Blackfeet Reservation whose walls were painted by a Blackfeet muralist in its first year.

More markers nearby

• Chief Mountain and Old North Trail — 4.2 mi
• The 564th Missile Squadron — 11 mi
• Camp Disappointment — 12 mi
• The Blackfeet Nation — 16 mi