Charging Home Historical Society

Charging Home Historical Society Charging Home Historical Society operates on private funding and donations from the public who are interested in preservation of Native American Culture.

06/08/2026

Today, June 8th we are reminded of the 64 flood. I remember watching my home, cars, barn, and animals floating away. Those memories never fade.
Earl's stories were so vivid, it was like being there. He said it's was cold rainy day. One where you stoke up the fire and smell of freshly brewed coffee drifted through the house. Earl was at the morning table with his usual morning visitors telling stories. Earlina was a young child and like all children she kept tapping Earl's arm. He kept chasing her away. Finally she said Dad, there's water outside. He thought she meant the creek so he chased her away again. She kept coming back, tapping his arm, and saying water. Finally, he thought he better take a look. When he looked outside there was water all around his house. Just then the highway patrol came up and told him he better pack up his family and evacuate. He moved his family to safety and went to work helping others who didn't have cars.
After that, he said he always listened when Earlina was telling him something.

04/27/2026

General housekeeping today. Please remember that these stories are for your enjoyment. They belong to the Family of Chief Old Person. Please do not copy or publish. Thank you.

04/21/2026

When the Chief was a teenager, he would hook up his team and wagon and go up Cutbank Creek to get wood for all the elders of Star School. He always said there was "something" up there that didn't want to be disturbed. One time, he was up there getting wood, and his horse started to act up. He knew that was a sign to get out of there as fast as he could. So he asked the spirits if he could get wood and leave. He said he didn't even bother to get a full load; he just left. His horse moved faster than he ever did before. After that time, he knew he had to ask permission to go up there and get wood. In the time I lived up on Cutbank Creek, I was always aware of the spiritual activity. We did little to disturb anything around there. Some nights on a clear night, you could hear Bigfoot pounding on the trees. My daughter used to get a stick and pound on a tree. She would always get an answer back from down the creek. Another incident further up the creek was an encounter with a UFO. My Father-in-law and Mother-in-law drove up the gravel road a ways when suddenly their car stopped. Everything went dead, no lights, no battery, nothing. Soon, a bright light appeared directly above them. My father-in-law started to get out to see what was above them. As soon as he stepped out of the car, the light disappeared, and the car started, and the lights came on. They drove away as fast as they could. I'm sure we all heard the stories of White Calf fasting up there and being thrown off of Red Blanket. Earl always said to be respectful of Mother Earth and the Spirits. He didn't speak of the Spirits often, but he was aware of them. I often wish he were still here with us when the California company bought the land up there and disturbed the balance of spiritual life. There was so much activity after that. People down the creek also began to experience things. Anyway, I started out by telling how Earl always took care of the elders at Star School. Just thinking back to old times, the elders must have been grateful not to worry about wood. Earl always took care of it. The lesson here.....Be humble, respect your elders, and take care of them.

04/14/2026

Happy birthday Chief. I hope you’re having a great old time upstairs. I have so many questions for you, but they’ll keep until we meet again.🪶Today I honor your birthday by remembering all life’s lessons you taught me. I think the most valuable lesson was: “Be good to everyone, even your enemies. They will always come back around one day.” Another important lesson was: “Work hard and never mind the ones who talk against you. You have but one man to answer to, that’s all that counts.” Along those same lines…”Don’t worry about what others say about you, it just means you’re doing something, it’s when they stop talking that you need worry.” He taught me to be humble and never boast about what you did, our God and our Creator sees what you do for others, that’s what matters most.” I learned so much from the Chief, it’s hard to put it all down on paper. Always he ended his serious conversations with his hand out and say , “A thousand bucks.” We would have a good laugh. I don’t remember who charged $1,000 for stories,but someone he knew did.,so it became a joke in the office. One thing that comes to mind is telling the new council members to “use your staff, they’re educated and know what they’re doing.” He always said, “work together, you will accomplish more.”

I remember one day in March of 2003 he called me to his office and asked what it would take to build a rodeo grounds and race track by Indian days. Without a second thought I told him we could do it. We had a great team of people who took it to heart when he said work together. Our team was made up of Joe BirdRattler and Jack Meineke who were our gate race pros; then Ervin Carlson, Tony Carlson, and Elma Carlson were out relay pros, Mike Tatsey, Vincent Michaels, Scotty Augare, were the rodeo pros, Joe Gervais, Lionel Kennerly,Ray Montoya, and myself were the ones who found the money. There were many,many more that worked hard to make it a reality. We were grateful for Roy Whitford who moved the bleachers at the last minute. I remember thinking about his words: “Work together and you’ll accomplish good things. There was a council who worked together and let us just ‘do’. We finished by Indian Days. That fall we had our first concert, Earl Thomas Connelly. I don’t think many knew who he was, but secretly he was a favorite of mine. The second year, the rodeo boys held the first pro rodeo with Fred Whitfield in attendance. It was a great time. Most of all, the Chief was happy. One day I’ll post his race horse stories and many more. Happy Birthday Chief, your legacy lives on. 🌹🪶❤️

04/02/2026

I was thinking about Earl and his influence on our younger generation. He always welcomed everyone into his office, no matter if they were young, old, or an enemy. He would say, "Always let them in; if they came in the office to see me, it must be important to them." It was a rule in his office that we all knew. My granddaughter often came to work with me. She was shy at 5 yrs old, so she never said more than hi to him. One day she was taking pictures with an old Polaroid camera he had, and she asked him if she could take a picture of him. She took one photo, then said, "Thank you and I love you." Another time, he spoke to a first-grade class. Afterward, they made a poster for him to say thanks. Many of those children wrote I love you on the page. I admired his ability to make everyone comfortable being with him.

02/17/2026

Remembering Earl on this Presidents day. Earl gave a speech to the NCAI General Assembly when "Termination" was being attempted by the United States. At the time, only about one-fifth of the Blackfeet tribal members were considered full-blooded, and the tribe was viewed as a candidate for termination. In Earl's words to NCAI on the subject was..."It is important to note that in our Indian language the only translation for termination is to "wipe out" or "kill off"... how can we plan our future when the Indian Bureau threatens to wipe us out as a race? It is like trying to cook a meal in your tipi when someone is standing outside trying to burn the tipi down." Earl was appointed by President Richard Nixon to sit on the committee for Self Determination. And so began the rise of the Blackfeet Nation.

Chief White Calf
02/04/2026

Chief White Calf

The Chief's Jeanette Rankin Civil Liberties Award, congratulation letters.
02/04/2026

The Chief's Jeanette Rankin Civil Liberties Award, congratulation letters.

Some old photos I found while searching for Earl's name files.
02/04/2026

Some old photos I found while searching for Earl's name files.

Jenna Tatsey, look at the girl third from the left. There you are again!🙂 Also look at her ribbon skirt. I'm putting to...
05/22/2024

Jenna Tatsey, look at the girl third from the left. There you are again!🙂 Also look at her ribbon skirt. I'm putting together old photos and stories. I've come across some pretty interesting stuff.

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