Justice Outreach Project

"To do good all around, for all"

Learn to say it in Blackfeet!

Click the recording below to follow along with a native speaker.

(Spelled):

Kamootapii assinasatoop

(Pronounced):

Ga-moo-da-be ass-sin-nasaa-doop

Welcome to Browning, MT - the heart of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Located in northwest Montana the reservation was established by treaty in 1855 and spans over 1.5 million acres, making it one of the largest in the United States. Today, 17,321 members of the Blackfeet Nation call this place home.

This land is plentiful! Filled with abundant natural resources - from forestlands to oil and gas reserves - the Blackfeet Reservation has more than 518 miles of streams and 180 bodies of water.

Those living on the reservation routinely navigate a complex system of agencies and relationships, including local, state, national, and tribal entities. The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council is the governing body of the Blackfeet Nation and is responsible for exercising all powers of government under the Blackfeet Constitution and By-laws. The council is responsible for overseeing the management of tribal lands and resources, as well as its business enterprises, programs, and services. The nine-member council is made of members from four districts who are elected by tribal members to serve four year terms.

For over a decade, Little Flower Parish and the Blackfeet people have welcomed youth, young adults, and their adult chaperones to the community for one week each summer to help build the Kingdom of God through the hard work of mutual respect, unity, and love. We call this: Justice Outreach Project.

A ministry of the Diocese of Helena Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (OYYAM), J.O.P. focuses on the needs and capabilities of young people by placing them outside their comfort zone. Why "Justice Outreach Project"?

Justice "is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1807) Out of a pursuit to love our neighbor - to "give them their due" - we chose Justice as a foundational term for this ministry. We seek to learn about and truly encounter our neighbor, to break down the barriers between us, and form strong bonds of friendship and solidarity.

Outreach to our neighbors is part of our duty as Christians. We do not wait passively for our neighbors to encounter us. Rather, we seek them out, in justice and with respect, to meet them in the reality of their daily living. We hope to learn about and serve one another, always mindful of our mutual dignity before Creator God.

Project implies that this ministry is on-going. The real "project" of J.O.P. is the human heart. Authentic relationships that are built on solidarity and fraternal love do not exist only for a one-week "program," "mission" or "trip." Building the Kingdom of God takes time. The mission of J.O.P. is to change hearts, to expose youth and young adults to the principles of Catholic Social Teaching so that they can live them out in their daily lives. We return each summer to Browning to see our friends, because we value authentic, mutually respectful relationship with our neighbors.