LANDSCAPE AND PLACE-IDENTITY IN A GREAT PLAINS RESERVATION COMMUNITY: A HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF POPLAR, MONTANA by Scott Daniel Warren A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Earth Science MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Bozeman, Montana May, 2008 ©COPYRIGHT by Scott Daniel Warren 2008 All Rights Reserved ii APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Scott Daniel Warren This thesis has been read by each member of the thesis committee and has been found to be satisfactory regarding content, English usage, format, citation, bibliographic style, and consistency, and is ready for submission to the Division of Graduate Education. William K. Wyckoff Approved for the Department Earth Sciences Stephen J. Custer Approved for the Division of Graduate Education Dr. Carl A. Fox iii STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at Montana State University, I agree that the Library shall make it available to borrowers under rules of the Library. If I have indicated my intention to copyright this thesis by including a copyright notice page, copying is allowable only for scholarly purposes, consistent with “fair use” as prescribed in the U.S. Copyright Law. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this thesis in whole or in parts may be granted only by the copyright holder. Scott Daniel Warren May 2008 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the members of my committee—Dr. William Wyckoff, Dr. Joseph Ashley, and Dr. Wayne Stein— who provided essential guidance through this entire process. I especially wish to thank Dr. Wyckoff for his enthusiasm, encouragement, and commitment to this project. I also greatly appreciate the funding I received from the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University and the Jim Edie scholarship from the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University. I wish to thank the residents of Poplar for their contributions to this project and for treating me like one of their own. In particular, Pat Beck, Della Colgan, and Darrin Lockman were extremely helpful in providing me with historical information and introducing me to the community. Finally, I wish to thank Denver and Rose Atkinson, who took me in as one of their own family. Much of this project simply wouldn’t have been possible without their help, and I’ll always be grateful for their friendship. v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………..1 Research Objectives………………………………………………………………...….2 Setting……………………………………………………………………………….....3 Conceptual Framework……………………………………………………………...…9 Great Plains………………………………………………………………………..9 Native Americans………………………………………………………………...11 Capitalism and the American West………………………………………………12 Landscape………………………………………………………………………..14 Place……………………………………………………………………...............16 Sources and Methods…………………………………………………………………18 Chapter Organization…………………………………………………………………20 2. INITIAL SETTLEMENT PATTERNS TO 1907…………………………………...23 Changing Worlds……………………………………………………………………..23 The Assiniboine.………………………………………………………………....25 The Sioux.………………………………………………………………………..28 Changing Geopolitical Setting on the Northern Plains.………………………….30 The Fort Peck Reservation……………………………………………………………37 Setting the Boundaries…………………………………………………………...40 Poplar’s Development…………….……………………………………………...43 3. BOOM AND BUST, 1907-1960..................................................................................51 The Homestead Boom in the Northern Plains, 1908-1917…..……………………….51 Homesteading the Fort Peck Reservation ……………….………………………56 Poplar’s Boom …………………………………………………………………..60 A Segregated Community…………………………………………….………65 Depression, 1918-1939……………………………………………………………….68 The Homestead Bust, 1918-1928……………………….………………..............68 The Fort Peck Reservation…………………………………………………....69 Poplar’s Development................................................................……………...71 The Great Depression, 1929-1939 ................................................................................74 The New Deal ...................................................................................................75 The Fort Peck Tribes.........................................................................................77 Depression-Era Poplar ......................................................................................80 A Second Boom, 1940-1960………………………………………………………….82 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS—CONTINUED Agricultural Recovery............................................................................................83 The Oil Boom ........................................................................................................85 Termination............................................................................................................86 Poplar’s Post-War Evolution .................................................................................87 4. THE GREAT SOCIETY, THE GROWTH OF NEOLIBERALISM, AND THE CHALLENGE OF ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT, 1960-2008………………………94 The Great Society and the Fort Peck Reservation, 1960-1980.....................................95 Poplar’s Economic Development………………………………………………102 The Changing Social and Economic Profile of the Fort Peck Reservation, 1980-2008…………………………………………………………………………...109 The Growth of Neoliberalism…………………………………………………..116 Poplar’s Economic Adjustment………………………………………...............119 A Landscape Cross-Section…………………………………………………….123 5. THE INSIDER’S PERSPECTIVE………………………………………………….148 Sources and Methods....………………….……………………………………..149 Life in Poplar…………………………………………………………………...152 Life on the Fort Peck Reservation………………………………..….….……...163 Life in an Economic Hinterland….…...………………………………………..172 Addressing the Challenges….……....….………………………………....….…175 6. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………...180 REFERENCES CITED…………………………………………………………………186 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONAIRRE ……………………………….…………..201 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Map of Northeastern Montana………………………………………………...4 2. Agriculture and Oil……………………………………………………………6 3. Map of Poplar showing Key Places…………………………………………...8 4. Map of Assiniboine and Sioux migration to northeastern Montana…………27 5. Indian Land Claims Commission Map………………………………………35 6. Map of northeastern Montana in late nineteenth century……………………39 7. Map of Poplar, 1908…………………………………………………………44 8. Boarding School in 1893 and 1904-1905, respectively……………………..45 9. Camp Poplar River……………………………………… ………………….46 10. View of Presbyterian Church looking southwest, 1908……………………..50 11. Fort Peck Sioux Delegation to Washington, D.C. 1910……………………..59 12. Map of Poplar, 1914…………………………………………………………62 13. Birdseye view of Poplar looking northwest, c. 1917………………………...62 14. Birdseye view of Government Row looking north, 1917……………………63 15. Birdseye view of Poplar looking west, c. 1917……………………………...63 16. Parade on Second Street looking South, c. 1917…………………………….64 17. Promotional Map of Regina-Yellowstone Trail, 1924………………………73 18. Aerial view of Poplar looking northwest, 1957……………………………...92 19. Log house from the West End……………………………………………...103 20. Location of the West End well……………………………………………...103 viii LIST OF FIGURES—CONTINUED Figure Page 21. Map of Poplar showing 1960s and 1970s additions………………………..104 22. Fort Peck Tribal Industries, late 1960s or early 1970s……………………..106 23. Sewing camouflage nets at A&S, 1980s……………………………………108 24. Building metal chests at A&S, 1980s………………………………………108 25. Modified anti drinking-and-driving sign…………………………………...123 26. Map of Poplar Cross-Section Route………………………………………..126 27. Obsolete Landscape and the Town Limits………………………………….127 28. Fortified Spaces…………………………………………………………….129 29. The Gateway Hotel, c. 1917 and 2008, respectively……………………….131 30. Second Street Commercial District, looking south…………………………133 31. The Water Tower and the Neighborhood…………………………………..134 32. Replacing the “Oil City” Water Tower, 1980s……………………………..135 33. The Bluff……………………………………………………………………136 34. The West End……………………………………………………………….138 35. Welcome to Poplar………………………………………………………….140 36. Spotted Bull Treatment Center……………………………………………..141 37. Tribal Express………………………………………………………………143 38. Airport Addition……………………………………………………………144 39. Paths…………………………………………..……………………………146 40. “God’s Country” in Spring.………………………………………………...154 ix LIST OF FIGURES—CONTINUED Figure Page 41. Wild West Days street carnival, 2007…………………….………………..155 42. Wild West Days street carnival sign, 2007…………………………………155 43. Map of Important Places and Spaces within Poplar………………………..161 44. Poplar’s last Grain Elevator, 2006………………………………………….169 45. Fort Peck Youth Services, 2007…………………………………………….169 46. Fort Peck Journal reporter Louis Montclair, Second Street, 2008…………171 x LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Divisions of the Sioux………………………………………………………..29 2. Population Trends, 1950-1970……………………………………………….97 3. Roosevelt County Farm Statistics, 1974-2002……………………………...111 4. Per Capita Income in 2006 dollars..………………………………………...113 5. American Indian Population and Total Population…………………………114 xi ABSTRACT This study constructs a historical-geographical narrative of Poplar, Montana and explores residents’ place-identity in the context of economic restructuring. Located on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana, Poplar offers an ideal setting to better understand how economic restructuring affects the lives of residents in northern Plains reservation communities. Loss of businesses, consolidation of services, and