Blackfeet schools use heavy metal music to support student mental health

Browning High School and Buffalo Hide Academy on the Blackfeet Reservation are offering a new 18-week class that uses heavy metal music as a tool for suicide prevention and grief processing, according to reporting by Montana Free Press. The course, developed by the nonprofit Firekeeper Alliance, teaches students to analyze subgenres like death metal, grindcore and doom metal while encouraging open discussions about trauma and mental health.

Students also write their own songs and engage with professional musicians. They can earn credit and stipends for working at Fire in the Mountains, a heavy music festival scheduled for July 25-27 on the reservation. Proceeds from the event will support local suicide prevention programs. “It provides us with the tools to be able to deal, to face our anguish and not just be a prisoner to it,” said lead teacher Charlie Speicher.