GREAT FALLS — Construction has been halted on a new dormitory for a boarding school on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation after workers unearthed a bison processing site.
The Great Falls Tribune reports Blackfeet tribal officials allege the Bureau of Indian Affairs didn’t conduct a proper environmental assessment of the site before initiating the project at the Cut Bank Boarding School. The BIA did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Officer John Murray says his office first learned of the find on July 8 when BIA workers installing a water line began unearthing bison bones. Within a week, he says tribal archaeologists recovered hundreds of pounds of fully intact bison skulls and other bones, stone projectile points and decorative beads.