Second century for a 'sacred place'

About 1,000 people gathered to celebrate Glacier National Park’s 100th birthday on Tuesday in a ceremony aimed at recognizing people who have supported and protected the park for decades.

Glacier Superintendent Chas Cartwright served as master of ceremonies for the event that attracted many of the park’s most dedicated supporters to the West Glacier Community Center.

The crowd included current and former park staffers and volunteers, along with area community leaders.

“I urge everyone to recommit to the continued support, protection and preservation of this sacred place we call Glacier,” Cartwright said. “As we move into the second century of Glacier National Park, the continued preservation of this special place is in the hands of the stewards we engage today.”

It was May 11, 1910, when President William Howard Taft signed a bill establishing Glacier as the country’s 10th national park.

“Today, we recognize this anniversary, acknowledging that the story of this landscape is much older than a mere 100 years, and that the story will continue well beyond this significant event,” Cartwright said.

Cartwright urged those attending to reflect on their experiences in the park and how they and their families have benefited from those experiences.

“It’s not just the landscape,” Cartwright said. “It’s the people and their connection to the landscape.”

Wearing a ceremonial headdress, Blackfeet Tribal Chairman Willie Sharp Jr. said Glacier has been “a place of spirituality,” with its formidable mountains representing fortitude for centuries.

He recalled working in East Glacier and being a wildland firefighter as a young man. “It was an experience that I really relished and cherished,” he said.

“Many parts of this land have great cultural and spiritual significance to us,” said Steve Lozar, a Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council member.

Lozar said tribal members have long interpreted an 1855 treaty as granting the tribes lands beyond the reservation’s current boundaries, all the way to Glacier.

“To us, our reservation and homeland does extend to the Canadian border,” he said. “We believe we have always been here.”

Montana Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger remarked that Glacier “is a special place with a long history of enchanting people.”

He and several other speakers talked about their experiences in the park, in his case a visit to Many Glacier with his parents when he was 10 years old.

Bill Schustrom, a Glacier interpretive ranger for the last 22 years, said he wondered if President Taft “realized what he was setting in motion” as he was establishing Glacier as a protected national park.

“And I wonder what the impact of the park had on so many millions of visitors to this special place,” he said.

Schustrom read a resolution drafted by state Sen. Ryan Zinke, R-Whitefish, that was adopted by the Montana Legislature in recognizing Glacier’s Centennial year.

Representatives for Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester and Rep. Denny Rehberg read statements from the lawmakers acknowledging the special day.

On Monday night, the U.S. Senate passed a Baucus resolution recognizing the park’s 100th birthday.

Cartwright concluded the event by announcing that about 75 volunteers who have organized more than 100 centennial activities will receive a National Park Service citizen volunteer group of the year award in Washington, D.C.

Afterwards, cake was served in the community center and former park rangers led a series of walking tours to historic locations in the West Glacier area, such as the park’s original headquarters building on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com