Blackfeet 1964

On June 7, 1964, a driving rain buckled dams and flooded homes on the Blackfeet Reservation, sweeping crying children from mothers' arms, and ferrying barns, vehicles, and bodies across the prairie. By the time it ended, 29 members of the Blackfeet Tribe had drowned in the worst natural disaster in Montana history. For weeks, rescue workers sorted through the silt, animal carcasses, and driftwood, searching for the flood's last victims, some of whom have never been found. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the flood, tribal members continue to wrestle with the flood's legacy, and the broader public remains largely unaware of its toll. This app is intended to change those dynamics by giving tribal members a chance to fully tell their stories about the flood, and for the public to join the conversation about the disaster's legacy.