Hays is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Blaine County,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, United States. The population was 843 at the 2010 census. The community lies within the

Fort Belknap Indian Reservation The Fort Belknap Indian Reservation ( or ) is shared by two Native American tribes, the A'aninin (Gros Ventre) and the Nakota, Nakoda (Assiniboine). The reservation covers , and is located in north-central Montana. The total area includes the ma ...

, near the reservation's southern end. The nearby community of Lodge Pole lies to the east. The town was named for Major Hays. The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions built St. Paul's Mission Church at Hays in 1887.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 702 people, 188 households, and 153 families residing in the CDP. This rose to 843 in the 2010 census and 996 in 2020. The 2000 population density was . There were 207 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 5.27%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 94.59% Native American, and 0.14% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.28% of the population. While Hays is located on a reservation belonging to both

Assiniboine people The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nak ...

and Gros Ventre people, the community itself is primarily inhabited by

Gros Ventre The Gros Ventre ( , ; meaning 'big belly'), also known as the A'aninin, Atsina, or White Clay, are a historically Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe located in northcentral Montana. Today, the Gros Ventre people are enrolled in the Fort ...

, while nearby Lodge Pole is home to

. There were 188 households, out of which 51.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 30.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.6% were non-families. 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.71 and the average family size was 4.16. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 44.0% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 12.3% from 45 to 64, and 5.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $17,000, and the median income for a family was $20,000. Males had a median income of $25,250 versus $21,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $6,489. About 44.1% of families and 50.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 60.0% of those under age 18 and 48.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Hays educates students from kindergarten through 12th grade. High school is at Hays-Lodgepole High School. They are known as the Thunderbirds.

Notable person

* Theresa Lamebull, one of the last native speakers of the

Gros Ventre language Atsina, or Gros Ventre (also known as ''Aaniiih, Ananin, Ahahnelin, Ahe, A’ani,'' and ), is the ancestral language of the Gros Ventre people of what is today Montana, United States of America. The last fluent speaker died in 2007, though revita ...

, was born in Hays in 1896.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Blaine County, Montana Census-designated places in Montana Fort Belknap Indian Reservation