Sleeping Buffalo Rock Petroglyphs - Montana - Pictographs on Waymarking.com

~ text from the Sleeping Buffalo Rock historical marker ~
Sleeping Buffalo Rock
Montana's native people revere this boulder that once perched high atop a wind-swept ridge overlooking the Cree Crossing on the Milk River. The ancient, weather-worn effigy resembled the leader of a herd of reclining buffalo in an outcrop of gray granite. Ancient marking define its horns, eyes, backbone and ribs. Since late prehistoric tines, native peoples of the Northern Plains have honored the Sleeping Buffalo's spiritual power. Oral traditions passed down among the Cree, Chippewa, Sioux, Assiniboine and Gros Ventre as well as the more distant Blackfeet, Crow and Northern Cheyenne tell how the "herd" fooled buffalo-hunting parties. While each tribe has its own culture and beliefs, all Montana tribes share worldviews. A Chippewa-Cree elder explained, "These rocks are sacred, just like our old people.: Locals claim the Sleeping Buffalo, relocated to Malta's City Park in 1932, was restless, changing positions and bellowing in the night. The Sleeping Buffalo found this final resting place in 1967 where the smaller "Medicine Rock", also collected near Cree Crossing, rejoined it in 1987. These timeless objects continue to figure prominently in traditional ceremonies, linking the present with the past when the power of the prairie was the buffalo.

~ text from the Cree Crossing historical marker ~
Cree Crossing
The Missouri River once flowed through this valley as it made its way northeasterly to Hudson's Bay. A gigantic ice dam diverted the Missouri to its current channel about 15,000 years ago. The Milk River occupies the old channel and flows through a valley choked with glacial debris. The river is as crooked as a dog's hind leg and at certain times of the year it may appear to be somewhat trivial and even dusty. But during the spring thaws it gets right down to business and runs bank full.
One of the best fords across the river in this part of Montana lies just northeast of here. For thousands of years, the crossing was used by Indians to reach the buffalo range to the south. Although other tribes used the ford, it became known as Cree Crossing. Archaeological evidence indicates that people have been using it for at least 5,000 years. They left evidence of their presence in abandoned campsites and petroglyphs carved into the boulders haphazardly strewn abut the area. During the 1930's, rock and gravel fill material needed for the massive Fort Peck Dam was quarried from a location just north of Cree Crossing.

Type of Pictograph: Petroglyph

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Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   09/28/2020 Rock Chalk visited it 08/02/2015 TrekStarL visited it 08/02/2015 RETIKON visited it 09/05/2008 PeterNoG visited it 07/02/2008 tbn501s visited it

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