Expanding further on my article, “45 Years of Friendship and Hunting in the Montana Wilderness” (see page 22 of this issue), I felt the need to expand on a subject that seems to have sparked a lot of interest. I have fielded many questions regarding our living arrangements while we were in Montana…staying with the “Hutterites”.
I recently had the pleasure of participating in our GreeneScene podcast to discuss my annual trip. While the hunting was the main focus of conversation, things quickly changed once the subject of “where we stayed” was mentioned.
While hunting a ranch near Winnett Montana in the mid 70’s, Gary Rohanna had the pleasure of meeting a couple of the ranch hands who happened to be Hutterites. Delightful characters with bubbly personalities, they became instant friends. A friendship that has grown and flourished for over 50 years, and they are truly…just like family.
The Hutterites are a communal Anabaptist group, tracing heritage back to the Radical Reformation of 16th century Europe. Like the Amish and Mennonites, they emphasize adult baptism, nonviolence (pacifism), simplicity, and a strong sense of community. Their name comes from Jakob Hutter, one of their early leaders. Over time Hutterite groups migrated to North America in order to preserve their way of life.
Many Hutterite colonies originated from Europe (especially regions of what is now Ukraine) and in the late 1800s and early 1900s moved into the U.S. and Canada. Much like the Amish, antiwar sentiment in World War I made life difficult in the U.S. for communities who refused military service, which prompted many to relocate to Canada, especially to the Prairie Provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
There are over 500 colonies of Hutterites in North America (the U.S. & Canada) with most (70-75%) calling Canada home. The U.S. colonies are concentrated mostly in states like South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Washington. Colony sizes tend to be in the range of 80 – 150 people, and are formed of multiple families.
Every Hutterite has communal obligations that must be attend to first and foremost. Once these communal obligations are completed, they have the opportunity to make extra money by offering their services and expertise to outside sources…thus working as ranch hands on neighboring ranches.
After being invited back to their colony in Grass Range, we were greeted by an extremely friendly and welcoming group of people. No longer strangers, they welcomed us right into their homes…giving us warm beds and tables full of homemade food to enjoy. The Hutterites are very gifted singers and musicians and the evenings are filled with songs, fine guitar strumming, and of course some of the best homemade pies you have ever tasted…a perfect ending after a long day of hunting.
In the beginning we had very little knowledge of their way of life and their customs. With an obvious ignorance of their ways, and not wanting to ask a hundred questions, we opted for research instead to find the answers to our questions. We were always careful not to overstep and asking for permission to do anything was generally the norm for us.
Hutterites only marry within their religion and from other colonies. Once married, the bride moves to the groom’s colony…never the other way around. Men don’t leave the colony they were born on…except to start a new colony. One interesting custom practiced by the Hutterites is separation…when attending church or eating meals (in the cafeteria) the men sit on one side of the room and the women sit on the other.
The Hutterite colony is male oriented, and the men always enter buildings first and are seated before the women and children sit down. Only members of the colony are allowed in the church and outsiders are generally not permitted to eat in the cafeteria. Because of our long-time affiliation with the colony, we are permitted to stand in the foyer of the church for events like weddings, and they give us our own table (separated from the group) in the cafeteria.
One of the defining features of Hutterite colonies is communal ownership. Everyone is equal. Property, income (everyone gets paid the same monthly amount), many resources are shared. Each member has a specific job…be it either agriculture, livestock, crafts, cafeteria duties, or colony enterprises. The Grass Range colony has a very successful slaughterhouse business (Stahl’s Meat Processing). All necessities are provided by the community.
In most cases, agriculture remains the base resource of production. Crops (corn, hay, alfalfa), poultry, pig and dairy operations, sometimes manufacturing or equipment repair. Colonies often invest in efficient, modern agricultural technology. Their life is very structured. They share their meals usually in a communal state-of-the-art dining hall.
The oversight, and day-to-day operations of the colony, are handled by elders or colony leadership (usually the preacher). Beliefs shape the norms for the colony for such things as modesty, dress, patterns of social interaction, and schooling (a one room, on-sight schoolhouse, K through 8th grade only). German is their first language, with English taught as a second language.
Furthering education past the 8th grade is recommended but not required. With most, their colony duties are usually well defined by this stage of their lives. However, others (especially girls) chose to pursue further educational opportunities. High school is delivered in various formats, including public schools, or interactive television (IITV) broadcast via broadband Internet (HBNI). Most of the teachers on the HBNI-IITV system are Hutterites.
They are a very adaptive people. However, there is a fine line between adaption and tradition. There is a dynamic tension between maintaining traditional values and adopting useful technologies. For example, most colonies use tractors, computers, and state-of-the-art or modern livestock practices, while resisting entertainment technologies (no TV’s) in private life or other aspects they see as conflicting with their values.
The Hutterite communities contribute significantly to agriculture in the regions where they are located. Their scale of operation creates efficiencies in production. In some provinces, they supply large percentages of eggs, poultry, dairy, pork, etc.
Culturally, they represent a unique alternative model of communal life, showing how religious conviction, shared property, and collective decisionmaking can persist in modern society. They preserve German dialects and heritage, maintain communal architecture, and keep practices like shared meals and mutual aid. Their educational arrangements, though adapted, still reflect their values.
Hutterite colonies in the U.S. and Canada remain a living example of communal religious life in the contemporary era, rooted in Anabaptist tradition, yet adapting to the demands of modern agriculture, changing social conditions, and regulatory environments. Their population is growing, their economic contributions are significant, and their way of life raises questions about how tradition and modernity can coexist.
Although we are from two different cultures, having the Hutterites as friends is a valuable and enriching experience. Through our friendship, I realized that these differences help to strengthen our relationship and I’m just happy they allow us to be a part of their world for a few weeks out of every year.
