The Blackfeet Indian Writing Co. was founded in 1972 in Browning, Montana. It was owned and operated by the Blackfeet native American tribe, manufacturing pencils, pens, and markers from facilities located on their 1.5 million-acre reservation along the Canadian border in northern Montana. In 1981 the company purchased the ballpoint pen manufacturer Lindy for $700,000, and grew to $6.2 million in annual sales by the mid-80s. In 1988, one of their most profitable years, the company produced an estimated 150,000 pencils. Around this time they employed up to 75 workers and were the largest employer on the reservation, which had an unemployment rate of up to 69 percent in the winter season. But by 1992 the company was in financial trouble. Ownership was transferred to 20 of its employees who renamed it Blackfeet Writing Instruments, Inc. The company is believed to have closed down in the early 2000s.
