Blackfoot Indians
Blackfoot Indians
The Blackfoot Confederacy was divided into four separate tribes, the Northern Blackfoot (Siksika), the Kainah (Blood), the Piegan, and the North Piegan. All four groups spoke the language, Algonquian. Before the Blackfoot Indians had to live on reservations, they lived in a large area from the North Saskatchewan River in Canada to the Missouri River in Montana. The Blackfeet were known for their skills in hunting buffalo. They avoided the Indian wars with American and Canadian settlers, but they were in violent encounters with the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Marias Massacre. During the summer, the Blackfoot Indian tribes had a ceremony where all the bands came together. This was the only time the tribes would come together; it was called the Sun Dance. The Blackfoot men and women took part in storytelling, artwork, music, and traditional medicine.
Blackfoot women were in charge of the household. They cooked, cleaned, and even built their own family's home wherever the Blackfoot men went. Blackfoot children do everything all children do. They play with each other, go to school, and chores around the house. Most Blackfoot children enjoy hunting and fishing with their fathers. In the past, Blackfoot children had more chores and not very much time to play. The Blackfeet lived in houses called tipis made of buffalo-hides. Blackfeet moved around a lot to follow the buffalo. Because of this, the tipis were made to be able to be broke down and set up quickly. They could be packed up and ready to move to their next spot in less than an hour. Now, the only time Native Americans put up or use tipis is for fun or to connect with their heritage. Today most Blackfeet live in houses and apartments like normal people.
Blackfoot men were hunters. They mostly hunted buffalos by driving them off cliffs or shooting them with a bow and arrow. Blackfoot people ate buffalo meat, small game like ground squirrels, nuts, and berries. Sometimes the Blackfoot men had to go to war to protect their families. Blackfoot men and their families made many interactions with other tribes of Montana and the Northern Plains. Sometimes the Blackfeet and other tribes would trade goods and intermarry. But other times they would fight and start wars with each other, but often made up quickly after. The customs of the Plains Indians were different than those for the Europeans. Indian tribes didn't fight over territory, but to prove how courageous they were. Although the Blackfoot Indians were usually neutral, they were the ones who caused the only violent encounter on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. "In late July of 1806, the explorers met a band of Piegan hunters and as with other tribes they met, they offered peace and trade with the American government. However, as they did this they mentioned that tribes hostile to the Blackfoot Confederacy would be supplied with guns. Waiting until night, the Piegans tried to steal the explorers' guns, sparking a struggle which saw two of the natives killed." The Blackfoot tribe was the victim of the Marias Massacre. The Marias Massacre, on January 23, 1870, killed almost 200 men, women, and children.
During the winter, the tribes separated into bands from about ten to twenty lodges. During the summer, the Blackfoot tribes lived in tribal camps. This was the season that they hunted buffalos. The Blackfoot Indian tribes held a ceremony where all the bands came together. This was called the Sun Dance; it was held every year during the summer. “The Blackfoot Sun Dance included the following: (1) moving the camp on four successive days; (2) on the medicine woman, and