Elouise Cobell making life better for Montana’s Native Americans, one battle at a time
by Jodi Rave
Montana Magazine
Elouise Cobell remembers a time when everyone on the Blackfeet Reservation mattered. And she won’t ever stop trying to appreciate or share that beauty with others.
The 62-year-old grandmother has spent a lifetime finding ways to improve lives among her fellow Blackfeet Nation citizens. She has since made it possible for a half million Native people around the United States to join her.
“We grew up always aware of our community because my mother and father were always inclusive,” says Cobell. “They would gather up the kids in the community and they’d come with us. My mother taught them how to sew and make jellies and bread. My father taught young ones how to handle livestock and transferred that knowledge.”
In those days, a tent was placed in the family’s yard for spillover guests. “We were never alone growing up,” says Cobell. “We always had neighbors, and cousins and a very large extended family.”
Today, an 18-foot “tipi” stands in the front yard of the Cobell home. Inside, two cots recently stood ready for any visiting guests who might care to spend the night among the bright stars.
Cobell can be defined as one of those illuminating stars, a woman whose light shines within her community and has spilled upon a national arena. “The fact that she’s a ‘MacArthur genius’ doesn’t even tell the whole story,” says Dennis Gingold, a prominent banking attorney in Washington, D.C. “It’s a remarkable story that I haven’t seen anyone come close to.”
The remainder of this article is available in the March/April 2008 issue of Montana Magazine. Call 406-444-5114 or 1-888-666-8624 to buy a copy or subscribe.
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