(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Americorps, BLM staff clean, prepare Four Dances site after vandalism – Daily Montanan [1] ['Darrell Ehrlick', 'More From Author', '- Monday June'] Date: 2023-06-05 The Yellowstone River flowing past Billings, Montana (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan). The best view of Billings may be the least-well known access points to the sandstone cliffs that envelope Montana’s largest city. Hiking along the rimrock cliffs — or the “Rims” for short — has been a part of the city’s ongoing approach to developing more recreational opportunities in the city. Swords Park spans the space between the downtown and Billings Heights along the rims, and gives a sweeping view of Montana State University-Billings as well as being close enough to incoming airplanes to nearly touch them. To the west, Zimmerman Park takes a number of twists and turns along the popular trails and steep cliffs. To the east, the rims wrap in a more gentle pattern around the area used for fairgrounds and METRA events, just beyond the shadow of Billings’ original townsite, Coulson. But it’s the jagged cliffs to the south that have continued to capture the imagination of writers and historians, largely for their historic importance before European settlers. Local historians have debated the exact location of “Sacrifice Cliff” — the spot where, depending on the legends and myths, a band of grief-stricken warriors blindfolded their ponies and rode to their deaths on the Yellowstone River below, after discovering their camp and families wiped out by the Smallpox epidemic. The site is also historic because it was one of the places used by several tribes to drive bison over the edge as a means of hunting. But on the southern rims that jut out to meet the Yellowstone River several hundred feet below, those points offer some of the most impressive viewing of the city on the Yellowstone valley floor. It’s also one of the least known public access areas, largely because the land is neither city nor state park, but instead belongs to the Bureau of Land Management and named after a Crow leader, Four Dances. Earlier this spring, a white supremacist posted photos on social media with neo-Nazi symbols next to petroglyphs, or rock carvings placed there by Indian tribes. Last week, members of the Americorps and staff from the area BLM office arrived at the Four Dances area to clean up and prepare the site for the summer season, as well as surveying and removing the graffiti, which is still under investigation. In addition to offering some of the most panoramic views of Billings and Yellowstone County, including the opportunity to see at least a half dozen mountain ranges on a clear day, Four Dances remains a place of sacred history for different tribes, including the Crow and Northern Cheyenne, according to BLM archaeologist Jennifer Macy. The Four Dances area, which encompasses more than 700 acres to the south of the Yellowstone River, across from an oil refinery and adjacent to the Metra and Yellowstone County fairgrounds, also is the place of a fasting bed where Four Dances received a vision. A Crow tribal member Plainfeather told the story of Four Dances in 1959, when he was 88 years old. The story begins with three men, including Four Dances, going to the vista for dancing and visions. Four Dances and the others remained there and danced for two days. At the end of the time, the other two men left, leaving Four Dances alone. He continued his dance, and just before daybreak of the fifth morning, Four Dances heard a voice instructing him to look toward the Crazy Mountains. He saw five people dancing, coming toward him, four men and one woman, singing a praise song. They disappeared, but reappeared singing the song – this time closer, near the mountains around Columbus or Park City. The dancing people sang and disappeared from Four Dances. Then, the dancers reappeared at the present site on the rims where Billings Logan International Airport sits, across the river from Four Dances. A sacred doll and hoop used in traditional sun dances transformed into a screech owl and then the dancers that Four Dances saw appeared around his fasting bed, according to Plainfeather. “As they stood in front of him, they sang. After singing the song four times, the leader threw the hoop and it had turned into a screech owl and flew back and landed on Four Dances chest,” Plainfeather recounted. “A man appeared with a rifle and fired it at the screech owl. The screech owl then went into Four Dances’ chest.” The songs that the owl taught Four Dances to sing said, “The big owl that is above has adopted me.” And, “The trees I traveled among are strong. I am the screech owl.” Because of that vision borne out of fasting, prayer and song, the area is considered a sacred part of Crow history, and demonstrates how the place, including the pictograph caves farther south of Four Dances, were used by different tribes before the advent of Europeans. “We want this to be a place where people come and enjoy the spectacular views, and also appreciate the deep cultural significance of the area,” said Marc Jacobsen, public affairs specialist with the BLM. 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