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How St. Mary Got Its Name
One of the many stories about how St. Mary got its name, is Father DeSmet, a Catholic priest, was caught in a heavy fog coming off of Divide Mountain on the old Beaverslide trail. When the fog cleared, the first thing he saw was the face of St. Mary. He was able to use this as a landmark to help guide himself down to St. Mary Lake. The face of St. Mary appears in the rocks of Single Shot Mountain, which is the high mountain directly in front, across from us. The face can be better recognized when looking back at the mountain from about four miles north of St. Mary.

St. Mary is located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, which is approximately 1.5 million acres in size and is home to about 8,000 Blackfeet. The name Blackfeet, according to legend, was given to them because their moccasins were blackened from prairie fires. The Blackfeet or Piegans (Pi-kun-i) live here in Northern Montana. The Indian reserve to the north in Canada is the home of the Blood Indians (Kai-nah). If you are in the area during July, plan on attending the North American Indian Days Celebration. This celebration is held in Browning the second week in July and brings together Indians from many tribes throughout the U.S. and Canada. Native dances, a parade and a rodeo are just a few of the events in this four-day celebration.