JESSE DESROSIER SPEAKS OUT !

Piegan Institute Immersion School graduate.

He DOES speak Siksika!

United States Marine

Junior at the U of Montana with a double major in anthropology and Native American studies.

SAFEGUARD BADGER TWO MEDICINE LAND  (from the GF Tribune, Aug. 24, 2015)

I was raised with the traditional values of my people, and found peace in the outdoors.

As a Pikuni warrior and veteran of the United States Marines, it is not only my duty to protect my country and lands but my obligation. It is my obligation to uphold our traditional life and to protect our natural resources for future generations. A Pikuni (or Blackfeet) warrior was shown a code of ethics by his/her elders and the proper protocol for war. For the Pikuni, it was a warrior’s obligation and duty to defend the rights of both the land and the people. Above all there were two distinct reasons a Pikuni warrior would defend and give their life for if necessary — the children, and the land.

The children are the future of the Pikuni and the most innocent members of the community. The land gives us life, and nature is what provides us with all the necessities of a good life. For thousands of years, my people defended our territory, battling disease, starvation, genocide, and forced colonization. We have seen our territory shrink vastly, but still we continue to defend what natural resources we have left, and share them with our future generations.

“Nit-sit-ta-pi-ksim-stat”, which in Pikuni means “Think Native,” the literal translation when broken down linguistically means “Real People Thinking.” Nit-sit-ta-pi which means “Real People” or better Human Being, the word my ancestors used when referring to not only themselves but all the idigenous groups of the North American continent.

Nature and our mother earth provided life for my people and every part of it was considered living. Thus many names in my language including places, plants, rivers and mountains have animate meanings. We understood the power of nature and the importance of respect we had to show to it in order to survive. The natural world is where my people found spirituality. Across the world, different cultures have constructed libraries, temples and churches for the purpose of gaining knowledge or places to worship and pray. My people are no different; we believe the power of knowledge and worship is in these animate elements of nature.

Our warriors are noted in several books for their bravery and aggression toward enemies who threatened the Pikuni way of life. Today, Native Americans serve in the U.S. military at the highest rate per capita of any minority group. Some of these veterans make up the Blackfeet Veterans Alliance and Blackfeet Warrior Society.

To my people there are these designated places which are reserved as “sacred lands.” Badger Two Medicine is one of those places; this is our “holy land”, and our “old country.” Not just a specific river or mountain, but all of it, from the prairie flats to the mountain front, and every body of water and stone upon it. By understanding the Pikuni culture and connection with the land, we can understand why it is essential for a healthy life.

I urge any outside entity to respect sacred land. I wish to share and pass on the phrase nit-sit-ta-pi-ksim-stat, or “think like a human being,” when considering violating the laws of my people. Badger Two Medicine is our Vatican, our “holy land,” and is there to be kept in its natural state, to gain knowledge and worship. I advise any oil companies to honor and respect the beliefs of my people.

Jesse DesRosier is a junior at the University of Montana with a double major in anthropology and Native American studies. From Browning, he is a member of the Blackfeet tribe and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, 2007-2011.

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Below are a few of Jesse's distinguished non-tribal family members.

"Montana Indian reservation administrator. Fred Choteau Campbell, was born in Shawnee, Kan., in 1864. In 1890 he entered the U.S. Indian Service as a teacher in Genoa, Neb. He was later sent to the Fort Peck Indian Agency in Montana and in 1898 was appointed superintendent of the Fort Shaw Indian Training School. Campbell also served as superintendent of the Blackfeet Agency for ten years before becoming the district superintendent for Montana, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, and Idaho. Campbell retired from the Indian Service in 1932.  Campbell's daughter Mary Freda married Peter LeRoy DesRosier, a Browning, Mont., merchant. Campbell died on October 5, 1942, in Portland, Oregon."  [Campbell is arguably one of the best Indian agents the Blackfeet ever had."

"Drugstore owner in Browning, Mont. Peter DesRosier was born in 1873 in Providence, R.I., and moved to Havre, Mont., in 1892, where he was employed by the Broadwater and Pepin Company. He later opened the DesRosier Drug Store. In addition, he was postmaster at Browning from 1915 until 1921 and raised cattle on the Blackfeet Reservation. DesRosier also founded a theater in Browning. Peter DesRosier's wife, Emma Jane DesRosier, was active in several community activities in Browning. Peter and Emma Jane DesRosier had four children: Lauretta Mary, Peter LeRoy, J. Stuart, and Patricia Alouise. Peter DesRosier died on 29 Dec. 1932. Peter LeRoy DesRosier was born on 4 Apr. 1902 in Havre, Mont. He worked as a customs inspector, deputy game warden, and was the subsequent owner of Glacier Drug Company in Browning. During World War II he served with the 79th Battalion of the U.S. Navy Seabees. He was married to Mary Freda Campbell (1898-1961), daughter of Fred Choteau Campbell."

Bob and I used to go to a movie at the Park Theater, run by another relative, Ledbetter, and then have ice cream sodas at Roy's drug store.  He had red hair, like Campbell.  I never really thought about whether he was enrolled.  The Park Theater and maybe Glacier Drug had been rebuilt after fires, but after the last fire the Park Theater ("the show house") was not rebuilt.

The Broadwater-Pepin mercantile building was derelict and torn down by Bob Scriver with a crowbar.  The nails were square and Bob hammered them out to recycle.  The lumber was used to build the Scriver Taxidermy Studio, which is now the Blackfeet Heritage Center.

I've admired Jesse since his elementary school days.  Clearly, he's still growing and what an amazement that is!  Ik soka'pii !!