Within its borders, Montana encompasses many different environments—sweeping prairies, endless range and farm lands, lush wetlands, Rocky Mountain and alpine wildernesses rich with timber, water, and wildlife. The drama and beauty of Big Sky sunsets are unrivaled anywhere in the world. America’s fourth largest state is home to seven Plains Indian tribes, each a semi-sovereign nation with unique history and subtle cultural distinctions.

VISIONS groups have lived in Montana reservation communities since 1991. This year VISIONS returns to the Blackfeet Reservation in the northwest near Canada bordering Glacier National Park. It is a landscape of dramatic power and beauty. Our history there and long-standing friendships afford participants opportunities to learn about Plains Indian culture from the inside. We collaborate on projects with multiple organizations and agencies including the Blackfeet Head Start Program, the Piegan Institute Nizi Puh Wah Sin Immersion Schools and the Blackfeet Land Trust-a unique partnership between the Nature Conservancy and the Blackfeet Nation, a model of land conservation for other Native American Tribes seeking to preserve their lands.

Your service directly benefits families and/or entire communities. Construction projects have included playgrounds for schools and Head Start programs, softball fields, basketball courts, picnic pavilions, traditional dance arbors, additions to community buildings, handicapped ramps and other renovations to elders' homes. You might do environmental work on wilderness lands designated for tribal recreation or organize a summer activities program for young children.

You will spend time with educators, tribal historians, civic and spiritual leaders, storytellers, ranchers and naturalists. You will join our hosts in their sweat lodges, might help build a sacred sun dance lodge and then witness the sun dance; learn beading from skilled craftspeople and oral history from native storytellers, share a traditional meal of meat, berry pudding and fry bread with friends. You will attend a summer pow wow, an intertribal gathering lasting several days when tribal members make camp, renew connections, and celebrate with dancing in traditional regalia, drumming, stick games, shared stories and food.

Wilderness is never far away in Big Sky country, and spectacular sunsets are daily occurrences. Recreation could include rock climbing, hiking, and backpacking in Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall or Rocky Mountain Wildernesses. We ride horses and relax with the Crossguns family on their ranch abutting Glacier Park or perhaps into the mountains with Tom Crawford to help gather wood for his sweat lodge. Occasionally, we venture beyond the reservation to larger towns such as Kalispell or Whitefish, perhaps to the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo, and definitely to places of historic interest such as old buffalo jumps or ancient camp sites where tee pee rings are still visible.

Experience firsthand the generosity, wry humor, and customs that characterize Native American life today.