Sleeping Giant formation in the background, with Helena Cathedral in the middle of the picture.
Looking to the North from almost anywhere in Helena, Montana, you’ll see the Big Belt Mountains. In the middle of the panorama of hills and valleys, is a series of peaks that are known locally as “the Sleeping Giant.” Once it’s pointed out to you, his nose is the first recognizable feature, and then his chest, and then your mind completes the image for you.
I can see the Giant from my living room on a clear day, even as I sit on my couch now. In fact, I’ve had a view of it from five different houses I’ve lived in. It’s plainly visible from the local mountains we hike. It can be seen from the State Capitol Building where I’ve offered testimony to our legislature; we walk our dog around the Capitol often. When I drive east to report to the Search and Rescue building for trainings or missions, I see it from the road. When I work ambulance shifts, we might leave the hospital and head downhill into the Helena valley on a call. The Sleeping Giant looks the same as I navigate through the traffic with my lights and sirens on, going faster than maybe I need to.
The Sleeping Giant is an area landmark, one that everyone in town sees every day. Businesses are named after it; places use its image in their logos; it’s inescapable. And I’m still not tired of looking at it.
I’ve lived in Helena for more than ten years now, running away from Massachusetts at 22. Montana was the farthest place from home where I could find a job, so this is where I came. Since living here, in the shadows of mountains, I’ve had more life-changing experiences than I can count. I’ve done work that I believe in; I’ve met and learned from incredible people; I became a father; I’ve done hard things that needed doing; and I’ve gained a lot of knowledge and perspective. When I left “home,” I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted in life. Since being here, 2500 miles West of where I was born, I’ve made a lot of progress toward becoming the person I want to be.
The Sleeping Giant is the best symbol I can think of to describe how I view my life. It’s here. There’s pre-leap-of-faith-move-to-Montana me, and there’s working-towards-something me. Every time I see the Sleeping Giant I’m reminded of that distinction and I’m able to remember that I can chose which parts of my past define me, and I mostly chose the parts that have happened here.
Along with writing “People need wild places,” Kingsolver writes “Wilderness puts us in our place. It reminds us that our plans are small and somewhat absurd. It reminds us why, in those cases in which our plans might influence many future generations, we ought to choose carefully.” I couldn’t agree more. Not everything we do needs to be impactful, and in reality, we’re all just bits of dust that will eventually be re-absorbed by the cosmos. Our lives are incomprehensibly short compared to the timeline of the universe. But sometimes we can do something that matters, and we should.
There’s a quote I love attributed to a man named Nelson Henderson: “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” (Henderson may have been paraphrasing the words of Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore). Not only are these words applicable for those seeing the world through an ecofeminist perspective, but I think they are a wonderful addition to Kingsolver’s point. We should make progress for those who will take up the fight next. If connecting to the place you’re in helps you remember that, then what more reason is there to need the nature that exists in that place?
And yes, nature is present everywhere. As Terry Tempest Williams reminds us in Red, not all nature is green and comforting. “Green recalls pastoral comfort, provides a resting place for the eyes.” (p. 5) Yet we can tell from her writing that the harsh desert she calls home are worth protecting too. In Touching the Earth bell hooks writes “Even in my small New York City apartment I can pause to listen to birds sing, find a tree and watch it.” (p. 367) We can find connection with nature and build history anywhere we chose. Shanna B. Tiayon offered further proof by telling us stories of urban Black farmers in her Pocket article “The New Sisterhood of Black Female Homesteaders.”
Does nature/open space/wilderness create the “bedrock democracy” mentioned by Williams? I don’t know, but there is A LOT of conversation around access to wilderness here in Montana, and our democratically elected legislators are an engaged piece of that conversation. Seems pretty important to me.
Works cited:
Kingsolver, Barbara. Knowing Our Place. svacanvas.sva.edu/content/mfa_ap/fa16/apg5350/s1/downloads/Session_pre-02_H03_Kingsolver_2.pdf. Accessed 17 Feb. 2025.
Terry Tempest Williams. Red. Vintage, 30 Dec. 2008, pp. 3–19.
hooks, bell. Touching the Earth. jdyck.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/1/5/19153179/touching_the_earth.pdf. Accessed 17 Feb. 2025.
Tiayon, Shanna. “The New Sisterhood of Black Female Homesteaders.” Pocket, 2016, getpocket.com/explore/item/the-new-sisterhood-of-black-female-homesteaders?utm_source=pocket-newtab. Accessed 17 Feb. 2025.
OHHH MY GOOOOD!! This view is STUNNING – it almost doesn’t look real. I can tell the Sleeping Giant is not just a mountain; it’s a constant reminder of the growth and transformation you have experienced since moving. One question I do have for you is out of all states what made you want to move to Montana? Montana has so many different significant landmarks but the Sleeping Giant is the biggest figure that can be seen from an angle. I mentioned this in my last response but experiencing different parts of the world is not just about seeing new sights; it is an opportunity for personal growth. Traveling gives us the opportunity to step outside our comfort zones and embrace change. It amazes me how many of you in this course have decided to move away from your hometown to explore new opportunities and start a new life. The willingness to leave behind familiar surroundings in pursuit of something new is not only encouraging but also shows how important it was to do so. The quote you use is definitely important because it shows the humbling and power of nature. Like you said our lives are short so our lives should be a motivation to explore and learn about nature in all its forms.
Hi Eric,
To your point “We should make progress for those who will take up the fight next. If connecting to the place you’re in helps you remember that, then what more reason is there to need the nature that exists in that place,” I feel that the examples of homesteading are a great example of connecting to the place that you are in. Here we see a return to cultivation methods that have existed for generations and a relationship to nature where yes there is extraction but cultivation as well!