December 2006 - M. N. Zedeño and her research assistants Kacy Hollenback (University of Arizona) and Dale Fenner (Blackfeet Community College) conducted a field survey and assessment of Blackfeet sacred sites and traditional use areas along the Birch Creek watershed, Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana. Sponsored by the Indian Land Tenure Fund, this is the second field project aimed at documenting historic and contemporary uses of two watersheds adjacent to the Badger-Two Medicine Traditional Cultural District. This region was ceded in 1896 by the Blackfeet Tribe, which retains use rights to it. The project was conducted in partnership with the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Mr. John Murray.
A survey of the tributaries of the South Fork of the Two Medicine River was completed by Zedeño and her Blackfeet Community College partners in 2005, with funding from the US Forest Service. The success of both endeavors will be evident when the boundaries of the current Traditional Cultural District are expanded to include the watersheds under study.