Atrocious

I completed the Visions Montana Blackfeet program summer of 2017 and while there was a complete lack of organization (so much so the head of Visions had to come and help the counselors for a few days), I had a lot of fun so decided to do it again. I chose the Montana Northern Cheyenne program simply because it was the only one which fit in with my schedule. And quick disclaimer, as insane as it sounds, everything I'm about to say is completely true.

I arrived at the airport later than everyone so had to drive back around midnight with one of the counselors and I got involved in quite a long political conversation (had to do something to kill the time) towards the end of which he explained, unsarcastically, how he believes the government controls people's minds by outlawing hallucinogenic drugs. While that didn't particularly bother me, I was a bit concerned and it explains a lot of what happened later (not suggesting this person was ever under the influence of anything during the trip). The next day marked the beginning of the counselor's abusive behavior towards me including mercilessly mocking my (natural) British accent and mimicking everything I said, continually changing the instructions and making me redo work for no reason and giving minimal regard for my well being and safety. Anytime I was riding shotgun in a car and he was driving he would either park my door over a puddle if possible, or simply park it so close to another car it was impossible for me to get out. Any question, request or statement I made was met with either a shrug or simply complete inaction. I brought this behavior upto the leader and other counselors multiple times but it was either brushed off or ignored; either way, no action was taken. The rest of the incidents were much more minor but their continual (multiple times per hour) nature made the whole trip horrible. Next, any input I gave, with regards to nearly anything, was ignored as it was assumed that I had no experience (when in actuality I've done construction carpentry work for multiple years) and I was never given an opportunity to prove myself. There were quite a few times where a lot of time was wasted simply because counselors refused to listen to my and friends' ideas.

Moving on from the 'leadership' problems, compared to the Blackfeet trip where we backpacked and camped in the beautiful Glacier National Park, went to (and participated in) so many amazing cultural events such as a Sundance, Sweat Lodge and Powwow, and spent much of our time working in/with and interacting to the community, this trip was severely lacking. We spent most of our free time, both during the day and the evenings, at 'homebase' as no events had been organized and many organized events were cancelled.

Accomodations wise, we were staying at the local community college, all together in a single room. Guys, girls, and counselors bunk beds were separated by curtains hung up on string and while it was pretty much what I expected, the temperature control made nights unbearable. It was at least 90F for most of the trip and everyone was cramped in pretty tightly. While horrible, the worst part was that the counselors refused to let us take the fans positioned around the kitchen and common area into the bunk area for no reason, while they themselves had multiple fans and some sort of AC system in their area which they kept hidden.

Also, while Visions had no control over this, we had multiple run-ins with extremely intoxicated locals who would follow us back to 'homebase'.

Finally, at the end of the program, I realized that another participant had taken 2 of my hoodies (one of which meant A LOT to me) but after many failed attempts to get them back, I went to the counselors. I was met with a shrug by all but one, and a refusal take even basic action by that person, even though I had directly seen my stuff in the other person's bag.

I can only write so much so I'm going to stop here but I think you get the point. I would absolutely not recommend this trip, or any other Visions trip for that matter (especially considering the company's lack of concern about my problems and horrible experience).