Blackfoot Nation

The Blackfoot Indians are a confederation of tribes who, for centuries, lived a nomadic existence on the Great Plains of America and Canada until the coming of white men. According to Blackfoot creation stories, the original people were formed by the Sun Creator and lived near the North Saskatchewan River and the Rocky Mountains. From here, the people prospered, multiplied, and eventually came to populate all of the [Page 61]earth. As the population increased, people began to leave the bands in order to find food; the farther afield they traveled, the more diverse the population became. Eventually, the languages of the people began to change until they no longer spoke the same language, but they found a way to communicate via sign language. Despite this diffusion of their original population, the food provided by the earth was not sufficient. Concerned that his people did not have enough food to eat, the Sun Creator made the buffalo and the lesser animals of the plains to sustain them. From that day forward, the Blackfoot lived a nomadic existence following the herds of buffalo that would soon become central to all aspects of their lives. Eventually, the Blackfoot would come to occupy the land from the North Saskatchewan River in the north, to the Rocky Mountains in the west, to the Milk River in the south, and to the Vermillion River in the east.

Some scholars believe that the Blackfoot, so named because their moccasins were colored black by the ash of their fires, once lived in the woodlands near Eagle Hills, Saskatchewan. Much of this speculation is based on linguistics, as the Blackfoot people are the westernmost of the Algonquin-speaking tribes. According to this tradition, early in the 18th century, immediately before European contact, they moved into the plains in response to pressure exerted by eastern tribes. However, Blackfoot oral tradition does not support this move, and by the time the Blackfoot came into contact with Europeans, no discernable influence of the eastern woodland cultures was noted in their culture. To further erode this tradition, archeological evidence traces the use of Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, in which Indians would drive buffalo herds over a cliff and harvest from the broken remains, in southwest Alberta to 3,000 BCE, while further oral traditions names Old Woman Buffalo Jump, also in southwest Alberta as the place where the marriage between the first man and woman occurred.

The Blackfoot Indians compose a confederacy of three tribes, the Blackfoot or Siksika, the Blood or Kaina, and the Piegan or Pikuni. In the modern day, the Piegan are divided into northern and southern bands, with each band separated from the other by the United States–Canada border. The Southern Piegan are also known in the United States as the Blackfeet. At the time of European contact, the Blackfoot population was estimated to have between 9,000 to 15,000. Among these diverse yet allied peoples, the buffalo played a central role. Called ni-ta prowahsini, or real food, the buffalo was used to make the teepees that the Indians lived in. Its flesh provided the meat that would sustain them through the winter, and its presence would provide them with a comforting reminder of the Sun Creator's favor in providing for his children. All other food was considered inferior to this one staple. Understandably, the Blackfoot existence centered on the tracking, killing, and processing of the buffalo. Whenever possible, tribal bands would stay together while the hunting was good, but just as often would revert back to smaller bands to engage in hunting.

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