Explore the real-world places that appear in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Marias River Massacre Site (Bear River Camp of Heavy Runner), Browning, Montana, Museum of the Plains Indian, Two Medicine Valley, Badger-Two Medicine and Old Agency at Badger Creek and 6 more.
Marias River near Chester/Shelby — Origin of the 217 dead in the snow
The novel's chain of violence traces back to a massacre in the snow that left 217 Blackfeet dead, an event echoing the real 1870 Marias Massacre. Good Stab's confessions to the Lutheran pastor keep circling back to this atrocity as the root of the vengeance that shapes his life and the vampire's hunt for justice. The memory of the bodies in the snow haunts the narrative.
On January 23, 1870, the U.S. Army under Major Eugene Baker attacked Heavy Runner's Piegan Blackfeet camp on the Marias River, killing at least 173 people, mostly women, children and elders, many sick with smallpox. It is among the deadliest massacres of Native Americans in U.S. history.
The site lies on the Marias River in a remote area of Montana, and is not developed with major visitor facilities. It is a protected historic site on private and state land with limited access and some commemorative markers.
Blackfeet Reservation headquarters — Heart of the modern reservation
Browning stands in for the heart of the reservation where Good Stab's story unfolds across eras. The community's lives, hunger, and losses form the backdrop to the pastor's recorded confessions and the vampire's search for justice. The town anchors the sense of a living Blackfeet nation against the history of violence.
Browning was established in the early 1890s as the agency headquarters of the Blackfeet Reservation after the earlier agency moved from Badger Creek. It became the tribal capital and grew with the arrival of the Great Northern Railway.
Browning is the largest community on the Blackfeet Reservation and hosts tribal government offices and the annual North American Indian Days celebration. Visitors come for the cultural sites and as a gateway to Glacier National Park.
Visit: Browning, Montana (landmark)
US Highway 2 & 89, Browning — Blackfeet history and art
The museum is not named in the novel, but it is the best real-world place to meet the history Good Stab's confessions bring to light, from buffalo-hunting culture to the upheaval of the reservation era. It stands as a counterpoint to the pastor's secret diary, offering the public record of the people whose stories are so often untold.
The Museum of the Plains Indian opened in 1941 under the U.S. Indian Arts and Crafts Board. It was created to showcase the artistry and heritage of Northern Plains tribes.
The museum is operated in cooperation with the Blackfeet Tribe and exhibits clothing, beadwork, and historical artifacts. It remains a key cultural stop in Browning.
Visit: Museum of the Plains Indian (museum)
Southwest of Browning — Fields where the vampire stalks
The open fields and valleys of the reservation are where the vampire haunts the land in search of justice, hunting those who earned it. Good Stab moves through this country in the night, and the empty prairie and cold creek bottoms provide the setting for the stalking and killing at the novel's core.
The Two Medicine region was long used by the Blackfeet for hunting and ceremony and was home to important camps. The area was affected by the 1895 sale of lands to the U.S. that became part of Glacier National Park.
The Two Medicine Valley is a popular area of Glacier National Park with a lake, campground, and hiking trails. It sits on the western edge of the Blackfeet homeland.
Visit: Two Medicine, Glacier National Park (park)
Badger Creek — Early reservation agency
The early reservation years in the novel reflect hunger and dependence on government rations after the buffalo vanished. Good Stab's recollections of that era shape his bitterness and ultimately feed the cycle of retribution at the heart of the confessions.
The original Blackfeet Agency was located along Badger Creek before moving to Browning in the 1890s. The Starvation Winter of 1883-84 killed about a quarter of the Blackfeet from hunger.
The area is mostly ranchland and open prairie with little remaining of the old agency. It is a quiet part of the reservation rather than a developed destination.
Reservation church — Where the confessions are transcribed in 1912
Over several nights in 1912 Good Stab visits the Lutheran pastor and offers his confession, which the pastor transcribes in a diary. The diary is later hidden inside a wall and discovered, revealing the slow massacre behind the narrative. The church is where the vampire's life story is told in the dark.
Christian missions of several denominations operated on the Blackfeet Reservation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were part of the broader federal policy of assimilation.
No specific building is identified as the novel's church, and local congregations continue to worship in Browning. The setting is fictional and not a public attraction.
East of Glacier — Creek bottoms and winter camps
Creeks like Cut Bank are the type of winter camp country where Blackfeet families sheltered and where the snow-covered dead haunt the story. Good Stab's wandering and hunting follow the water and breaks of the plains where the vampire can hide by day.
Cut Bank Creek flows from Glacier National Park across the Blackfeet Reservation and was used for camps and hunting. The nearby town of Cut Bank was established with the railway in the early 1900s.
The creek runs through ranchland and the reservation, with access points for fishing and camping near the park. Its upper reaches are part of Glacier National Park.
Visit: Cut Bank Creek, Glacier National Park (park)
Northern edge of reservation — Sacred landmark
Chief Mountain looms over the northern horizon of Blackfeet country, a presence in the landscape through which Good Stab travels. It stands for the permanence of the land against the brief violence of the settlers and soldiers.
Chief Mountain, called Ninastiko by the Blackfeet, is a sacred site used for vision quests. It marks the border between the reservation and Glacier National Park.
The mountain is visible from the Chief Mountain Highway and remains sacred to the Blackfeet. Visitors can view it from pullouts and nearby trails.
Visit: Chief Mountain (landmark)
Missouri River — Fur and buffalo-robe trade hub
The wider history of the buffalo hunters and traders who pushed into Blackfeet land looms behind the novel's violence. Fort Benton symbolizes the trade economy that fueled the slaughter of the herds and the hunters who in turn become prey.
Fort Benton was founded in 1846 as a trading post and became the head of Missouri River steamboat navigation. It is known as the birthplace of Montana.
The town preserves a historic district, the reconstructed Fort Benton, and museums along the river. It is a popular heritage destination.
Visit: Old Fort Benton (historic site)
Sun River — Army presence in Blackfeet country
The soldiers whose actions led to the dead in the snow represent the Army's role in the novel's chain of violence. Good Stab's quest for justice is aimed at the men who killed and those who profited, and military posts like this represent that power.
Fort Shaw was established in 1867 on the Sun River, and Major Baker's troops of the Second Cavalry were stationed there before the 1870 Marias Massacre. It later became an Indian boarding school.
Little remains of the fort, though the site and town have a small historic presence. Local museums interpret the area's history.
West of Browning — Mountain borderland
The mountains west of the reservation form the dark edge of the world in the novel, a place of retreat and danger. Good Stab's nocturnal movements take him between the plains and the high country, where cold and snow echo the massacre.
The mountains were Blackfeet homeland until the 1895 sale of the area to the U.S. government. Glacier National Park was established in 1910.
St. Mary Lake is a main attraction of the park, with boat tours and the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The park is a major tourist destination.
Visit: Glacier National Park (park)
More by Stephen Graham Jones: All Stephen Graham Jones books
Other nearby maps: The Revenant by Michael Punke locations map · The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie locations map · Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park by Lee H. Whittlesey locations map