The Sacred Buffalo Vision by Robert J. Juneau and Robert C. Juneau pg.72-73

George Bird Grinnell wrote the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1904: “For the last few years the Indians have made no progress. Their money is being expended; they are not being handled so as to become self-supporting or industrious. Something is radically wrong with the way in which the reservation is handled. For several years now these Indians have been unfortunate in their agents, having men who have held office for comparatively short terms. A few years ago these Indians had accumulated between 20,000 and 25,000 cattle of which by this time they have lost three fifths or more, largely through the fault of their agents. Shortly before the removal of Agent Steell he took steps to scatter the Indian’s cattle so that they never recovered more than one fifth of them. The fault lies with the employees of the agency and the agents, they will be found with the expiration of the present treaty with nothing to show for all the money that they have received except a few cattle and the agency buildings.”

White stockmen were building cattle ranches along the border of the Blackfeet reservation “not for their legitimate value as ranches, but by reason of their added value on account of their proximity to the valuable grazing lands of the reservation.”

Agent James Monteath, this “Utopian Colony” of mine

Blackfeet Agent Monteath reported on cattle trespass; “Prosecutions under these Sections would most likely come before a jury of cattlemen. I would not presume to say that exact justice would not result, but I believe that good judgment would seek to avoid, if possible, such a course. I venture the assertion that if a tract of land, situated as is this reservation, were in the hands of a private individual or a corporation, not one moment would be lost in throwing a fence around it. The Indians upon this reservation are unanimous in the opinion that a fence would save them stock, and have come to me repeatedly and asked the necessary steps to that end be taken. I believe a fence upon the north, east and south sides of this reservation to be a primal necessity to that proper care. Four agents in less than three years is a heavy load for any tribe to pack.”
-The Sacred Buffalo Vision by Robert J. Juneau and Robert C. Juneau  
pg.72-73