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Jack is a member of the Blackfeet Nation which is located in North West Montana. You can find more information about this part of his background on their official Web Site: Blackfeet Nation
Jack lives near Kalispell, MT and performs throughout the area, East and West of the Divide. Some of the most popular appearances are in conjunction with the Native Reflections program in Glacier National Park. However many of the local schools and resorts book performances throughout this area, and all of Montana. See the schedule page to find him near you. To illustrate how Jack's music is influenced by "Where We Are", and also his Blackfeet heritage, consider the following: One of Jack's recent albums is Tappin' The Earth's Backbone. Jack says, the Rocky Mountains are known as the "Backbone of the Earth" to the Blackfeet. When you look at the earth from space, that seems very appropriate. The image below is titled "Backbone-of-the-world", because it really looks like a bony spine, with ribs radiating outward, (well, with a little imagination it does). The Blackfeet recognized this without the aid of a camera in space. (Hmm, maybe a Vision Quest is just another way of seeing things from a different perspective without the modern convenience of a camera.)
In this image we are looking straight down from about 400 miles up.
Let's look a little closer at some places in Jack's songs.
Finally coming back down to earth, we look at St. Mary Lake from the ground.
The area around Babbs and the St. Mary valley is rich in Blackfeet history. This shows up in Jack's songs. For example, Speak to Me Grandma, from his Tappin' The Earth's Backbone album is a great tribute to his Grandmother, and to the oral tradition of the Blackfeet. But also it talks to anyone who has stood in the scene above. If you have ever spent much time in this valley, you can almost feel the "Wind Blowing off the Divide". Play the sound bite below from Speak to Me Grandma, and after it is finished, click on the image. It will take you "on the wind" from the top of the Divide down to St. Mary Valley. Speak to Me Grandma - Sound Bite
Click on the image at left to play video.
Cartography courtesy of Norman Adams, Bigfork, MT (NBAdamsCarto.com)
copyright 1997
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