On the high Plains of southern Alberta and adjoining Montana live the Blackfoot or Blackfeet Indians. Residing on three Canadian and one American reserve as well as in the regional towns, they number about 19,000 persons today. As far back as history and traditions go, the Blackfoot has been an ethnic nation comprised of three tribes: the Siksika or Northern Blackfoot, the Kainai or Blood, and the Pikuni or Piegan. They refer to themselves collectively as the Soyitapi, the Prairie People.
Their speech belongs to the great Algonkian language family, which is widespread in the northeastern parts of North America. Both this linguistic affiliation and their oral traditions point to a former residence, prior to 1740, in the parkland country to the northeast more precisely, in present-day central Saskatchewan.
History
In those early days the people did not range far in their wanderings, walking being their only means of transportation. The traditions are silent as to whether the people used canoes and snowshoes at that time. Dogs were used to carry most of the minimal camping equipment, either in packs strapped on their backs or on a V-shaped drag called a travois. Since this was the only means of transportation, tipis were but small and primitive affairs in those days. Skin tipi covers, skin and ceramic containers, wooden bowls, horn ladles and bone tools were made and owned by the women. In addition they made skin clothing, often decorated with painted or quillworked designs, for themselves and their families.
Distributed over a large area in small bands, the people spent the winter in the bush and the summer on the Plains south of the Saskatchewan River, following the great bison herds. During the late summer and fall, communal buffalo drives were organized in which herds were driven down a funnel-shaped runway into a circular compound or over the edge of a high cliff. The people were thus provided with a large amount of meat for the coming winter. For the rest of the year the men were compelled to stalk the game in long, arduous hunting expeditions. Their arms consisted of bows made of wood or antler, stone-tipped arrows and lances, and stone knives. Undoubtedly they must have been skilled in the construction of various and efficient game traps. Living in an area of lakes and rivers, these prehistoric Blackfoot most likely did not share their descendants' repulsion against the eating of fish.
About 1700, strange rumours and the first trickle of European imports reached these Stone Age people from far beyond their horizons. Originating from English trading posts recently established on the shores of Hudson Bay, metal knives, kettles, and other utensils reached the Blackfoot through native middlemen, such as the Cree and Assiniboin, who sold these goods to the tribes far in the interior at atrocious prices. In 1691 the first white man, Henry Kelsey, penetrated as far as the Saskatchewan country, but it took half a century more before Europeans became more regular visitors along the Saskatchewan River.
By the mid-eighteenth century, however, vast changes had already taken place in Blackfoot society. Spreading northward from the Spanish settlements in present New Mexico and Texas, horses reached the northern Plains in the early 1700s. Armed with guns obtained through the Cree and moving fast on horses captured from their neighbours to the southwest, the Blackfoot and their Atsina allies became fierce warriors after 1730. In the subsequent decades of warfare, they forced the Kutenai and Flathead to retreat across the Rocky Mountains and the Crow and Shoshoni to withdraw to the southwest. These wars were stimulated by pressure exerted upon the Blackfoot by the westward-moving Cree and Assiniboin, by the desire of the Blackfoot to come closer to the southwestern source of horses, and by the possibility offered by the horse to exploit the bison herds on a year-round basis. As a result, the Blackfoot slowly drifted away from the northern forests and carved out a new territory in southern Alberta during the eighteenth century.
During the same period, and stimulated by the same factors, a band of Beaver Indians from the Athabasca country wandered southward along the foothills of the Rockies. This group became known as the Sarsi tribe and, small in numbers and harassed by the Cree, they allied themselves permanently with the Blackfoot and adopted the latter's culture to a large extent. Only their Athapascan language survived as a reminder of their northern origin.
Whereas the Blackfoot profited from the increasing availability of European imports, they largely evaded the rapid impact of the White frontier society because the traders declined to move their posts away from the riverine transport routes. Bringing pemmican, dried meat, wolf skins and buffalo robes mainly, groups of Blackfoot Indians annually visited the British trading posts along the North Saskatchewan River and, after 1830, the American establishments along the upper Missouri River. Enriched with the results of their shopping and their observation of White customs and behaviour, the Indians would disappear again over the horizon after a few weeks. Until the 1860s Europeans seldom followed these visitors back into their own territory.
Although these circumstances allowed the Blackfoot many decades of complete freedom in the assimilation of new manufactures and new ideas, they did not escape all of the catastrophic effects caused by their exposure to the White man's world. Starting in the 1780s, if not earlier, various epidemic diseases swept frequently across the northern Plains and took the lives of thousands of native people who had no immunity against these diseases. Also in economic aspects the new prosperity was being purchased at a price. Adopting ready-made imports, the Indians abandoned old skills in the manufacture of traditional utensils and became increasingly dependent upon the White traders.
The loss of their economic independence became noticeable and slowly more painful to the Indians during the second half of the nineteenth century. The gradual disappearance of the great bison herds has commonly been blamed on indiscriminate over hunting and this certainly was an important factor. In addition, however, several decades of extremely low precipitation after 1850 appear to have drastically reduced the available grassland, diminishing the bison population probably by at least fifty percent. As a result, the Blackfoot had to spend more and more time in their wandering search for game, despite the growing danger of hostile encounters with Cree, Assiniboin and MÄtis, who were encroaching upon Blackfoot territory.
Even worse were the effects of liquor, brought into the Blackfoot country in vast quantities by a new breed of American traders. Violence and open clashes between Indians and Whites became part of an avalanche of misery and deprivation that engulfed the Indians. Great leaders, such as Crowfoot and Red Crow, would have struggled in vain to save their people if help had not finally come. In 1874 the newly formed North-West Mounted Police came west and restored law and order within a surprisingly short time. Yet, while the buffalo herds were rapidly disappearing, White settlers arrived and established farms and villages; the old days were gone forever.
Alarmed by these developments, the Blackfoot petitioned the Canadian government in 1876 and a year later Treaty No. 7 was made. With Chief Crowfoot as their negotiator, the Blackfoot, Sarsi, and Assiniboin surrendered all of southern Alberta in exchange for reserves based upon five people per square mile, annuity payments, and other benefits.
A few years later, the Blackfoot had their last successful buffalo hunt. It was followed by many years of starvation in which only the stronger people survived on the frequently inadequate government rations. Similar developments took place among the Blackfoot in Montana, who lost about one quarter of their population during those years.
Looking back upon those tragic times it is not difficult for us to criticize the harsh ways in which the Canadian and American governments forced the Indians to comply with the new administrative systems and the White man's ethical standards. Yet, both White and native leaders were faced with a situation that neither society had ever grappled with before: how to prepare nomadic hunters and warriors for an acceptable place and role in the new society that was rapidly emerging around the reserves. Throughout this difficult period of social and economic adjustment missionaries of various denominations played an important role, providing the new education system and contributing a degree of human understanding that was not always present among the government officials.
Ranching, haying and coal mining became the main sources of income for the Blackfoot, and the introduction of new varieties of grain finally made farming profitable. Life on the reserves slowly improved until the Depression years when the trend towards larger mechanized farms brought disillusionment, frustration and defeat. Large areas of the reserves were leased to White farmers. The native population increased rapidly after the 1930s and the lack of employment opportunities became a chronic problem over the years. The rapid increase in the cost of living after World War II aggravated this situation.
In addition to upgraded educational facilities, various economic programmes were initiated and government agents transferred their administrative responsibilities more and more to progressive native leaders. The exploitation of oil in the region and the development of related industries increased the opportunities for work. Since the 1940s, growing numbers of Indians have left the reserves and moved to nearby cities.
Despite a century of change, the Prairie People have managed to preserve the essential features and values of their traditional culture, adjusting them to the socioeconomic structures of today. Through continually reinforced family ties, as well as the annual powwow celebrations on each reserve, the Canadian Blackfoot maintain ethnic unity with their relatives south of the Montana border.
Economy
Traditional Blackfoot economy was primarily based on hunting. In addition to elk and antelope the most important game animals were the bison, or buffalo, which roamed in vast herds on the North American Plains. Mention has been made already of the use of pounds and buffalo jumps in hunting: similar communal drives were held in the hunting of antelope. The hunting techniques to be employed were determined by the weather conditions, the nature of the region, the seasonal migrations and condition of the animals. After the introduction of horses, the range and effectiveness of hunting increased considerably. The early flintlock guns, however, were inferior to bow and arrows for hunting, and repeating rifles became available only about 1870.
Meat was consumed fresh and was also dried and stored, sometimes in a mixture with fat and dried berries (pemmican) for use during the winter months. Skins were used in the manufacture of tipi covers, bedding, shields, clothing, containers and riding gear; horns were made into ladles and spoons; bones were made into tools; dung kept the fire burning. Some of the meat and hides were traded for guns, knives, axes, blankets, clothing, coffee, tobacco, whisky, and other imports. In addition to the trapping of small game, women enriched the daily menu with turnips, roots, berries, and other edible plants gathered in the region around the camps.
The construction of the tipi presented a clever solution to the problems raised by the climate and the nomadic way of life. About twenty long poles were set up in a circle, leaning against each other near the top. Buffalo skins, sewn together to form a semicircular sheet, were used to cover this frame and were kept in place by means of wooden pins in the front and heavy stones along the base. After the introduction of canvas these stones were replaced by pegs. Extending from the tipi cover, two flaps or ears flanked the smoke hole at the top and were supported by two outside poles, which could be moved to regulate the draft. Pitched with the more vertical back toward the prevailing westerly wind, the tipi's sloping frame at the front provided stability against the frequently sudden and strong winds on the High Plains.
The tipis were made, owned and set up by the women; assistance from the men in such matters was considered embarrassing to both of them. Because the Blackfoot had been rich in transport horses since an early date, their tips were considerably larger than those of the other tribes on the Canadian Plains.
All other manufactures reflected the nomadic existence as well. Instead of cabinets there was a variety of rawhide and soft skin containers, used to store clothing, tools, ceremonial objects, and food. Small babies were transported in mossbags made of soft skin and lined with dry moss, which had the function of modern diapers. They were carried around on the mother's back, held there by the robe wrapped around her shoulders. It is obvious from all these manufactures that the women spent a large part of their time in the dressing, tanning, and sewing of animal skins. They used to speak with pride of the number of skin tipi covers they had made, much as the successful warrior boasted of his war adventures.
The importance of horses led to another form of economic pursuit, the capturing of horses from enemy camps. The horse raid was a dangerous but quick way to wealth, and success in such hazardous enterprises added to a man's prestige. Obviously, such capital could be lost just as quickly as gained, horse-raiding being a popular activity among all Plains Indians. This risk was partly overcome by the distribution of one's horses among relatives and friends through prestigious "giveaways." Generosity of this type used to pay off as the giver could anticipate similar, if not larger, return gifts in the future. Certainly after the introduction of horses, Blackfoot society acquired its class of rich and influential families which had poor and dependent followers. The majority of the people, however, were reasonably successful in their economic endeavours and many were the stimulating stories of poor orphans who had made it to the top.
Social Organization
The lack of support from close relatives would be a severe setback indeed for the individual in this society. Children were frequently and easily adopted, however, and a child might even be given to another couple who had lost theirs. The Blackfoot household consisted of a man and his wife or wives, the unmarried children, and perhaps some other relative such as a grandparent or an aunt. A successful hunter was frequently admonished by his wife to take her sisters or friends as additional wives so as to assist in the production of tanned skins and the maintenance of a larger and more comfortable tipi, thus increasing the wealth of the household.
Some twenty or thirty of such households, many of them related to each other through the male family heads, made up a band. Providing mutual protection and a sufficient number of men to organize communal hunting drives, the band was the basic economic and political unit of the Blackfoot. Each band had its leader, recognized as such by common consent because of his prestige, and each band had a name, usually originating from a nickname given it by the members of other bands. The hunting economy did not allow the growth of larger permanent population units and for most of the year people did not meet with anybody but their own band members.
Although economically and politically independent, the band recognized common ties of language, kinship and culture with a number of other bands. During the summer, when the buffalo assembled in large herds, each of these bands took up its habitual place in the large tribal camp circle for a few weeks, and submitted to the authority of the head chief of the tribe. This man was one of the band chiefs who, through his prestige and influence, acted as chairman in the council of band chiefs and war leaders. Political leadership higher than the tribal level was non-existent; the tribes never acted together, and the occasional use of the term Blackfoot Confederacy is therefore incorrect.
Agreements reached in the tribal council were executed and enforced by selected organizations of men who maintained order in the tribal camp and during the tribal summer hunt. There were three types of such organizations: warrior societies, religious cults, and the less formal dance associations. Drawing their membership from all bands, these organizations were of major importance in the achievement of tribal unity.
After the tribal summer hunt the bands separated again, each of them going their own way. Winter found them camped among the trees in sheltered river valleys, protected from the blizzards and the terrible cold on the open plains. Split up in many small herds, the buffalo also spent the winter months in such protected areas, to the advantage of the people nearby. The wooded valley provided fuel for the campfires and grass for the horses. This was a time of social gathering, for games on the ice of the river and the telling of long stories at night.
Religion
When the warm winds announced the arrival of spring the buffalo started to drift away onto the Plains, forcing the people to break up their winter camps as well. Before starting off on their wanderings, however, they waited for the first beavers to leave their lodges. In their honour and that of other sacred spirits of nature, the owners of the Beaver Bundles gathered to perform their rituals and plant the sacred tobacco seeds.
Later during the spring, when the people had already moved to higher grounds, the first thunderstorm announced the performance of a ritual in honour of the sky spirits. This ritual was held by the owners of the Medicine Pipe Bundles. In all these rituals associated with medicine bundles, the bundles were ceremonially unwrapped and long and ancient songs were performed for each of the objects in them. Most of these objects were parts of animals, mementos of certain blessings once bestowed upon the people by the spirits of these animals.
Whether large and used in communal ceremonials, or small and for more private religious practices, medicine bundles originated from dreams and visions. Trained, if not programmed, by upbringing to expect such impressions, a Blackfoot boy fulfilled the expectations of his parents if he went out to a lonely spot where he fasted and prayed until he met a spiritual guardian in a dream. Frequently these were spirits of animals. In return for his prayers and sacrifices, this spirit would give the young man certain dream songs and, sometimes, instruction in the art of magical curing, weather control, or in the construction of protective ornaments or amulets. During the rest of his life a man would frequently go out by himself to pray for help from his guardian spirit. If considered effective, rituals originating from such individual experiences in the past could expand into, or become part of, the annual ceremonies attended by all people of the tribe.
Though all longed for visions and chastised themselves for this purpose, not all people were blessed with such mystic experiences. Wealth provided the solution in this case. Medicine bundles and their associated songs and rituals could be transferred to anyone, for a price. After the introduction of horses and European trade goods these prices rapidly increased. By 1900 it was not uncommon to pay sixty horses for a Medicine Pipe Bundle. Membership in ritual societies operated in the same way.
Whereas most of these bundle rituals honoured the various spirits that were responsible for the continuation of the annual cycle of nature, the Blackfoot shared the general human belief in a Creator of all things. The power of this Great Spirit was believed to pervade everything; His residence was thought to be the sun. In His honour the people celebrated the Sun Dance in mid-summer. The leading role in this annual ceremonial was played by the "Holy Woman", who could be any respected woman who had vowed to take this role in order to acquire spiritual help.
During the first day of the Sun Dance camp a large circular lodge was made in the centre of the camp. The pole frame was covered with brush and the rafters came together over the middle where they were resting in the fork of a tall centre pole. Interrupting this construction was the distribution of sacred slices of buffalo tongue and the blessing of the people by the Holy Woman. Once the Medicine Lodge was ready, a five-day fasting period of the Holy Woman came to an end. During the next four days young men refrained from eating while they danced around the centre pole in the Medicine Lodge, facing the sun, blowing their eagle-bone whistles, and concentrating their thoughts upon prayer. Preceding the actual Sun Dance, as well as following it, various ritual and warrior societies performed their ceremonial dances.
Arts and Crafts
Yet the annual Sun Dance camp was far from an exclusively solemn ritual affair. This whole period of about two weeks was a great time for visiting, games, horse races, and other forms of recreation. In addition to the various ceremonial costumes worn by some individuals, all the people wore their finest clothing and even the horses were gaily decorated. All the old Blackfoot-made objects in museum collections are but the faded and dusty remnants of the overwhelming display of Blackfoot arts and crafts as paraded about in an old-time Sun Dance camp.
Although one cannot expect a nomadic people to produce anything for art's sake only, practically everything made by the Blackfoot for their daily use had an artistic quality in either its form or its decoration. This was even more true when objects or costumes were made for ceremonial use. Prestige was acquired by the wearing and giving away of richly decorated clothing, and such manufactures played a role in the trade with other tribes.
Women prepared skins and made clothing, tipi covers, and rawhide containers. They carried out all embroidery with coloured porcupine quills and beads and they painted conventional geometric designs on buffalo robes and rawhide containers. By 1850, imported cloth and glass beads had become as readily available as skins and porcupine quills.
The men produced equipment for the hunt, war, and ceremonial activities. They carved wooden bowls, horn spoons, and stone pipes, and they painted realistic and symbolic pictures on tipi covers, robes, and shields. While each family could produce almost everything necessary for its survival, certain individuals were known for their exceptional ability in a specific craft. Even for them, however, artistic production was not a permanent or exclusive occupation.
Undoubtedly painting was the oldest among the decorative techniques of the Blackfoot. Originally the pigments were procured from certain rocks and plants, but commercial colours were imported by the fur traders as early as the 1770s. Mixed with hot water, glue or grease, paints were applied with pieces of porous bone which functioned like our present-day felt pens.
Quillwork is unique to North American Indians; nowhere else has this art form been found. If not used in their naturalistic white colour, the porcupine quills were dyed, flattened by pulling them between the quillworker's teeth and sewn to the buckskin surface in various intricate techniques. By 1880, embroidery by means of glass beads had become so popular among the Blackfoot as to cause most of the women to abandon the time-consuming quillwork.
Whether painted, quilled, or beaded, most Blackfoot decorative designs were geometrical until the people became acquainted with European floral patterns, introduced by the Red River MÄtis and the Cree. These new designs remained largely restricted to the decoration of moccasins, pipe bags, and horse gear. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century this floral fashion was very popular; the costumes seen at modern Blackfoot powwows are largely decorated again with old style geometric designs in beadwork.
Though colourful and rooted in the old traditions, most art forms of the modern Blackfoot have lost their former symbolic meaning. Paintings on their tipi covers are an exception. Whereas the geometric designs around the top and base of these tipis refer to the sky and the earth, the central pictures of animals and other beings originated from dreams and visions. They are visual proof that the Blackfoot have maintained their own outlook on life despite all the change that has come to their world.
