The Blackfeet by Bailey

                Did you know there were people that had a history of being the strongest tribe in northern U.S., hunted buffalo on foot, and took out chunks of flesh and called it a game? Well, the Blackfeet did. The Blackfeet were known for their violent history. They constantly raided and fought other tribes.

                The Blackfeet lived in the Great Plains of northern U.S. and southern Canada for hundreds of years. They dominated the grassland east of the Rocky Mountains. There were three tribes to the Blackfeet nation. They were the Blood, the Piegan, and the Blackfeet. The Blackfeet formed strong alliances with other tribes. They hunted on foot until they learned how to ride horses. They raided other tribes for horses and other supplies. The Blackfeet became the most powerful tribe in the northwestern plains. They were hunters and gatherers. The Blackfeet stole territory from other tribes to expand Blackfeet territory. Cree, Nez Perce, Crow, and Shoshone are Blackfeet rivals. The only crop they grew was tobacco.

                The Blackfeet hunted, ate, and used every part of a buffalo. They hunted buffalo on foot, surrounded it, and made it jump off a cliff and die. They would take the whole buffalo. They made thread from the stringy muscle along the back of a buffalo. They used the hide to make moccasins, robes, and other warm clothes. They used the stomach and bladder for carrying food and water. They carved the bones into toys, tools, and sewing needles. They used buffalo fat for soap and dry buffalo droppings to keep campfires burning.

                 The Sun Dance is the most important ceremony. The Blackfeet women took part. In this dance some dancers pierced chest muscles, cut off fingers, or dug out chunks of flesh from arms and legs to prove their bravery. People believed the sun would give them strength and good fortune if they asked and prayed to it. The purpose of the Sun Dance was to renew the world. The U.S. and Canadian government banished the Sun Dance, but many Blackfeet still take part. A moon, a morning star, and a certain animal is endowed with sacred power, and it is the Blackfeet symbol.

                The white men came in the 1830s. The Blackfeet traded fur and hide for horses and guns with the white men. The Blackfeet caught diseases such as small pox from the white men which killed nearly two-thirds of the entire Blackfeet nation. Then the white men began to shoot buffalo. The white men skinned the buffalo, and then left the meat to rot. Later on, the white men began shooting buffalo for a sport and didn’t even skin it. The white men left the entire buffalo to rot. Then the Blackfeet began to die.

                As you have read, the Blackfeet were constantly raiding and fighting other tribes. They were good hunters and lived an odd life style.

References 

Bail, Raymond. The Blackfeet. New York. Benchmark books.

Factmonster.com

Neiman, David. www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/native/bla.html. Roger Los of Seattle, Washington.

Press, Petra. The Blackfeet. Compass Point Books. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 2001.

 Updated 12-10-2008