Chief Mountain

36” x 70” Oil on Canvas

The Blackfeet name is Nínaiistáko (you’ll see several English spellings). It rises dramatically from the plains along the eastern edge of Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Reservation. For the Blackfoot Confederacy, it has helped define their homeland for millennia and is regarded as a place of immense spiritual power and ancient knowledge. Some traditional accounts describe it as the oldest spirit among the mountains, with Blackfeet creation traditions connected to it. 

The Mountain of Thunder

One of the most fascinating traditions connects Nínaiistáko with Thunder.

Blackfeet/Métis scholar Rosalyn LaPier records that Chief Mountain was understood as the home of Ksistsikomípi’kssi, a supernatural Thunderbird-like being. Its opening eyes brought lightning; the movement of its wings brought thunder. Thunder governed forces including thunder, lightning, fire and rain. it is a place where the physical and spiritual worlds meet.