The Sweet Grass Hills

Two state signs give these hills two Blackfeet names. This panel casts Kutoyisiks and ties it to Kutoyis, Blood-Clot Boy, who defeated his enemy here. MDT's geologic sign at the Sweetgrass crossing on I-15 spells it Katoyisiks and translates it as the Sweet Pine Hills. The names recorded for the buttes themselves lean toward the second reading: ami sítse katúyis, west side sweet pine, for West Butte, and pinapitsékatúyis, east side sweet pine, for East Butte.

What the plaque says

The Sweet Grass Hills The Sweet Grass Hills possess special significance to the Blackfeet Indians and to other tribes on the northern Great Plains. According to legend, the creator Napi fashioned the hills in the dim past out of rocks left over from the formation of the Rocky Mountains. Napi liked his creation so much that the hills became a favored resting place for the old trickster. Located in the heart of a fertile bison hunting ground, the hills served as a vantage point for game and as a lookout for enemies trespassing in Blackfeet territory. Because of the isolation and connection with the creation of the earth, they have deep cultural significance to the Blackfeet as a spiritual refuge where teenage boys made vision quests to help guide them into adulthood. Many of the Blackfeet's traditional stories take place in and around the hills. One of those involves the Blackfeet culture hero Kutoyis (Blood-Clot Boy) who sought to rid the world of evil in the early history of the world. It was in the Sweet Grass Hills that Kutoyis defeated Lizard or Frog Man after an epic battle that lasted many days. The Blackfeet paid tribute to his memory by naming the hills "Kutoyisiks" in his honor.

Where it stands

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