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Reagan was given Indian name 'Chief Buffalo Boy'
Thursday, June 10, 2004

Former president Ronald Reagan, who died last Saturday, was once given the Indian name "Chief Buffalo Boy" by leaders of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana, The Cut Bank Pioneer Press reports.

Reagan made a visit to Cut Bank, Montana, on Wednesday, February 7, 1979. After his speech to a crowd of about 4,000, Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person and other tribal representatives presented him with a belt buckle, a Hudson Bay blanket and his Indian name.

According to a press report at the time, Old Person "recalled an earlier encounter he had with Reagan during the 1954 filming of the movie 'Cattle Queen of Montana' at St. Mary. Indian extras failed to fall when fired on by Calvary troops. After the offer of a $10 bonus to those who would go down, everyone fell."

The report went on to say: "Reagan responded by pointing out that the real villains in the movie were white men disguised as Indians and not the Indians themselves. He promised to try and not do anything that would anger the Indians or impede their fight to improve their way of life."

Get the Story:
Reagan remembered in Cut Bank (The Cut Bank Pioneer Press 6/9)

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