High school service Location
Montana Blackfeet
Programs
Live on a conservation ranch on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, with Glacier National Park rising at the horizon. Do carpentry, foster puppies, serve meals through the Child Nutrition Program, and take part in sacred ceremonies on land with 10,000 years of living history.
- True Immersion, Cultural Events & Ceremonies
- Glacier National Park, Swimming Holes & Scenic Hikes
- Carpentry, Conservation, Animal Care & Social Services
Program dates
Montana Blackfeet 1
Dates
June 17 - July 1
Length
15 Days
Service hours
50 - 60
Tuition
$5,190
Montana Blackfeet 2
Dates
July 6 - July 22
Length
17 Days
Service hours
60 - 70
Tuition
$5,590
Montana Blackfeet 1
Dates
June 17 - July 1
Length
15 Days
Service hours
50 - 60
Tuition
$5,190
Montana Blackfeet 2
Dates
July 6 - July 22
Length
17 Days
Service hours
60 - 70
Tuition
$5,590
We were like one big family. I did new things, made new friends, learned about myself, and had so much fun. I have grown a lot and I brought that home with me.
Connect deeply
Living and working with Blackfeet tribal members offers unforgettable insights into the generosity, wisdom and 10,000 year-old culture of the Plains Indians.
friends become family
More than three decades of VISIONS partnerships mean you arrive with a foundation already in place. Tribal members welcome you to their ancestral lands, where respect for cultural practices is part of every day. The atmosphere across project sites, excursions, and community events feels more like family than program.
EXPLORE ADVENTUROUSLY
Under a famously big sky, Montana provides an awesome launching point for adventurous fun.
Going beyond
With Glacier National Park in our backyard, we hike scenic trails, swim in mountain streams, camp under the stars, and try an introductory rock climb. Cultural life runs alongside all of it: learning traditional crafts, spending time with tribal historians and healers, setting up teepees for sacred ceremonies, and watching dancers in regalia at drum circles. This is not a side trip. It is the whole experience.
Activities & excursions
- Take Scenic Hikes & Swim in Mountain Streams
- Camp Under Thousands of Stars
- Attend Sacred Ceremonies
- Horseback Ride (long session)
- Visit Historic Sites & Museum of the Plains Indian
- Rock Climb with Professional Guides
I loved getting out of my city lifestyle and living a simpler life that was more carefree.
Julianna Ross
WORK HARD
Service matters
Teen volunteers use power and hand tools to build wheelchair ramps and other structures, work alongside community members on the Child Nutrition Program, take on environmental projects, help prepare for ceremonies, and foster puppies who live on the ranch for the duration of the program. The work is varied, physical, and genuinely useful. You leave knowing you did something that mattered.
The community service was incredibly rewarding. We personally interacted with those who would benefit from the work and I’m so glad that I was able to contribute.
Reviews
“I loved my time with VISIONS and feel as though I am a much better person for having done it! I admired all the leaders and made such sweet friendships in Montana that I know I will never forget. I will cherish my time there and I feel lucky to have been a part of such a wonderful experience.”
CHARLOTTE L.
“This trip was very life shaping for me and in all honesty I wanted to stay and never leave. The memories I made with the students & the leaders will forever be in my heart. Everyday I wish I could go back. I didn’t know how much I needed an experience like this, to get away, meet new people, as-well as helping people and all while adventuring in an unfamiliar place. The service work made me feel proud to have helped members of the community we were in.”
ASHLEY C.
“Thank you so much for your mentorship, leadership, and allowing me the opportunity to grow so much through the VISIONS program. I can’t thank you enough for the impact you have had on my life, the growth I had and lessons I learned through the Blackfeet and through your program.”
TORIN Y.
Local spotlight
where you’ll live in montana
Local spotlight
where you’ll live in montana
Our homebase is the Yellow Bird Woman Sanctuary, a conservation ranch owned by the Blackfeet Indian Land Trust, just outside the reservation town of Browning. Glacier National Park dominates the horizon, and we are mindful of our role as stewards of the ranch’s rare ecosystem, which includes one of the few glacial fen wetlands in the country.
Accommodations are basic but comfortable, and we actively minimize our impact. VISIONS was originally invited to live at the ranch by Elouise Cobell, a modern warrior for Indigenous justice whose legacy continues to inspire. Read more about our Blackfeet home away from home.
Local team spotlight
Elouise Cobell
Elouise Cobell, also known by her Blackfeet name Yellow Bird Woman, left an indelible impact on Native communities across the United States. President Obama called her, “a Champion of Native American rights,” and her legacy continues to ground VISIONS in the land, history, and community of the Blackfeet Nation in profound ways.
Elouise co-founded the first national bank on a reservation owned by a Native American tribe, earned a MacArthur Genius Award for advancing Native financial literacy, and most famously became the lead plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit against the federal government. Filed in 1996, Cobell v. Salazar exposed a century of financial mismanagement of Indian funds. The case spanned three presidencies and was finally settled in 2009 for $3.4 billion. The settlement created a scholarship fund for Native students and returned land to tribal ownership. In 2016, Elouise was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Each summer Elouise met with VISIONS students, who were riveted by hearing her account of Blackfeet struggles and the throughline to the injustices that were surfaced by the case. We were honored to hear about the Cobell case directly from Elouise, who brought clarity to complex and century-old issues.
It was Elouise who facilitated VISIONS living on the 1100-acre conservation ranch that is owned by the Blackfeet Indian Land Trust, another organization that she helped establish. After her passing in 2011, the ranch was renamed the Yellow Bird Woman Sanctuary. Her spirit, friends and family remain a vital part of our program, connecting each generation of VISIONS teens to a story of justice, community and tradition.
To learn more about Elouise, read an article by our Executive Director and check out the documentary, 100 Years.
Related blog posts
Spotlight: Stella Viegas, VISIONS Alumni
Stella Viegas joined VISIONS Montana Blackfeet in 2025 and loved it so much she’s heading back — this time to Peru. Hear why she’s returning and what makes VISIONS an experience worth doing twice.
Spotlight: Amelia Fox, VISIONS Alumni
Amelia Fox spent her first VISIONS summer on Montana’s Blackfeet Reservation—and is heading to Peru next. Here’s what brought her back for a second summer of service.
Spotlight: Davidson Miner, VISIONS Alumni
Davidson Miner loved his first summer with VISIONS on the Blackfeet reservation so much, he’s coming back. Here’s what brought him back — and what he discovered about himself along the way.
Spotlight: Dylan Kinsella, VISIONS Alumni
Dylan Kinsella came to VISIONS Montana for leadership and left with something deeper. Now Peru-bound, he reflects on connection, challenge, and why he couldn’t stay away.
