Blackfoot

Blackfoot

ETHNONYMS: Blood, Kainah, Northern Blackfoot, Peigan, Piegan, Pikuni, Siksika

Orientation

Identification. The Blackfoot of the United States and Canada consisted aboriginally of three geographical-linguistic groups: the Siksika (Northern Blackfoot), the Kainah (Blood), and the Pikuni or Piegan. The three groups as a whole are also referred to as the "Siksika" (Blackfoot), a term that probably derived from their practice of coloring their moccasins with ashes. The term Kainah means "many chiefs" and Piegan refers to "people who had torn robes." Although the three groups are sometimes called a confederacy, there was no overarching political structure and the relations among the groups do not warrant such a label. Actually, the three groups had an ambiguous sense of unity, and they gathered together primarily for ceremonial purposes.

Location. Before the Blackfoot were placed on reservations and reserves in the latter half of the nineteenth century, they occupied a large territory that stretched from the North Saskatchewan River in Canada to the Missouri River in Montana, and from longitude 105° W to the base of the Rocky Mountains. The Plains Cree were located to the north, the Assiniboin to the east, and the Crow to the south of the Blackfoot. The Piegan were located toward the western part of this territory, in the mountainous country. The Blood were located to the northeast of the Piegan, and the Northern Blackfoot were northeast of the Blood. The Blackfoot now live mainly on or near three reserves: the Blackfoot Agency (Northern Blackfoot), the Blood Agency, and the Peigan Agency (Northern Peigan) in Alberta, Canada, and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana, inhabited by the Southern Piegan.

Demography. In 1790 there were approximately 9,000 Blackfoot. In 1832 Catlin estimated that the Blackfoot numbered 16,500, and in 1833 Prince Maximilian estimated that there were 18,000 to 20,000. During the nineteenth century, starvation and repeated epidemics of smallpox and measles so decimated the population that by 1909 the Blackfoot numbered only 4,635. Evidence indicates that the Piegan were always the largest of the three groups. In 1980 in Montana, the Blackfoot population was about 15,000 with 5,525 on the Blackfeet Reservation and the remainder living off the reservation. In Canada they numbered about 10,000.

Linguistic Affiliation. Blackfoot is an Algonkian language and is on a coordinate level with Arapaho and Cheyenne. Dialects of Blackfoot are Siksika, Blood, and Piegan.

History and Cultural Relations

Horses, guns, and metal as well as smallpox were probably present among the Blackfoot early in the eighteenth century, although they did not see a White person until the latter part of that century. The introduction of horses and guns produced a period of cultural efflorescence. They were one of the most aggressive groups on the North American plains by the mid-nineteenth century. Allied with the Sarsi and the Gros Ventre, the Blackfoot counted the Cree, Crow, and Assinboin as enemies. Warfare between the groups often centered on raiding for horses and revenge. The U. S. government defined Blackfoot territory and promised provisions and instructions in the Judith Treaty of 1855. The westward movement of White settlers in the following decade led to conflicts with the Blackfoot. By 1870 the Blackfoot had been conquered and their population weakened by smallpox. The bison had become virtually extinct by the winter of 1883-1884, and by 1885 the Southern Piegan had settled on the Blackfeet Reservation. The Canadian government signed a treaty with the Blackfoot in 1877. The three reserves were established some time later, and they are under jurisdiction of the Canadian Indian Department.

Settlements

The conical bison-hide tipi supported by poles was the traditional dwelling. During the summer, the Blackfoot lived in large tribal camps. It was during this season that they hunted bison and engaged in ceremonial activities such as the Sun Dance. During the winter they separated into bands of some ten to twenty households. Band membership was quite fluid. There might be several headmen in each band, one of whom was considered the chief. Headmanship was very informal, with the qualifications for office being wealth, success in war, and ceremonial experience. Authority within the band was similar to the relationship between a landlord and a tenant. As long as the headman continued to provide benefits, people remained with him. But if his generosity slackened, people would simply pack up and leave. When bands congregated during the summer, they formed distinct camps, which were separated from other band camps by a stream or some other natural boundary when available. When the Piegan, Blood, and Northern Blackfoot joined together for ceremonial purposes, each one of the three groups camped in a circle.

Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities. The Blackfoot were the typical, perhaps even the classic example of the Plains Indians in many respects. They were nomadic hunter-gatherers who lived in tipis. The bison was the mainstay of their economy, if not the focus of their entire culture. They hunted other large mammals and gathered vegetable foods. Traditions indicate that the bison were hunted in drives, although hunting practices changed when horses and guns were introduced. Deer and smaller game were caught with snares. Fish, although abundant, were eaten only in times of dire necessity and after the disappearance of the bison. Today, the economy at Blackfeet Reservation, Montana, is based on ranching, farming, wage labor, welfare, and leased land income. There is potential for oil and natural gas production and for lumbering. Poverty is a major problem, with the more acculturated doing better economically than the less acculturated as a general rule. Describing the Blackfeet during the 1960s, Robbins refers to them as an "underclass" and their economic position as "neo-colonial." On the Canadian reserves the current economic situation is similar to that in the United States, with the Blackfoot now marginally integrated into the White economy.

Industrial Arts. In traditional times, the bison was the primary food source as well as the source of raw material for many material goods including clothing, tipi covers, cups, bowls, tools, and ornaments. After trade was established with Whites, metal tools and cloth rapidly replaced the traditional manufactures.

Trade. Trade within the group or among the three Blackfoot groups was more common than trade with other groups. Horses, slaves, food, tipis, mules, and ornaments were common trade items. Trade with Whites involved the Blackfoot trading bison hides and furs for whiskey, guns, clothes, food, and metal tools.

Division of Labor. There was a rigid division of labor on the basis of sex. Men hunted, made war, butchered animals, made weapons, made some of their own clothing, and painted designs on the tipis and shields. Women did most of the rest, including moving camp, bringing wood and water, preparing and storing food, cooking meals, making clothing, and producing most implements and containers.

Land Tenure. Traditionally, there were no formal rules relevant to access or use of lands. Under the reservation system, about 15 percent of the reservation land is owned by the tribe, with the remainder allotted to individuals. In some cases, the inheritance by numerous heirs of what were once large parcels of land has resulted in ownership of small pieces of land of no economic value.

Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. The aboriginal kinship and social systems have been characterized as reflecting "anarchistic individualism." The kinship system was multilineal and multilocal, with a very slight tendency toward patrilineality. The basic social unit was the "orientation group," which consisted of the household of one's parents and one's own household.

Kinship Terminology. Kin terms were of the Hawaiian type.

Marriage and Family

Marriage and Domestic Unit. Marriage brought increased status to both the husband and the wife. Although most marriages were monogamous, polygyny was practiced and was preferred, especially among wealthier men. Marital and kinship relationships in general were governed by rigid rules of etiquette and behavior including mother-in-law avoidance, age-grading, and the use of formal speech with older kin. Husbands were exceedingly sexually jealous, and a wife suspected of adultery might be beaten, mutilated, or even killed. Today, family relationships and structures remain amorphous, unstable, and fluid. At Blackfeet Reservation, the formation of large households made up of related families and the tendency for the families to live near each other is associated with the scarcity of economic resources. These groups of relatives form cooperative economic units. A similar situation obtains at the Northern Blackfoot Reserve, with independent households occurring only under conditions of financial security.

Inheritance. Traditionally, men would leave their property to kin through a verbal will. Horses were the most valuable property and were most often left to the man's oldest brother. In the past, women inherited little, although today they more often receive an equitable share.

Socialization. Children were and are viewed as individuals worthy of respect. They are expected to be quiet and deferential with adults but assertive with peers. Admonishing, teasing, ridiculing, and scaring are preferred to corporal punishment which is considered abusive. Girls are taught by women and boys by men, generally learning the appropriate sex-typed behavior and skills first by imitation, then by helping, and finally by instruction. The extended family plays a central role in child rearing and care; it is not uncommon for children to live with their grandmother or grandparents. Adoption or the "bringing up" of children raised by relatives is also fairly common.

Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. Like other Plains Indian cultures, the Blackfoot aboriginally had age-graded men's societies. Prince Maximilian counted seven of these societies in 1833. The first one in the series was the Mosquito society, and the last, the Bull society. Membership was purchased. Each society had its own distinctive songs, dances, and regalia, and their responsibilities included keeping order in the camp. There was one women's society.

Political Organization. For each of the three geographical-linguistic groups, the Blood, the Piegan, and the Northern Blackfoot, there was a head chief. His office was slightly more formalized than that of the band headman. The primary function of the chief was to call councils to discuss affairs of interest to the group as a whole. The Blackfeet Reservation is a business corporation and a political entity. The constitution and corporate charter were approved in 1935. All members of the tribe are shareholders in the corporation. The tribe and the corporation are directed by a nine-member tribal council.

Social Control and Conflict. Intragroup conflict was a matter for individuals, families, or bands. The only formal mechanism of social control was the police activities of the men's societies in the summer camp. Informal mechanisms included gossip, ridicule, and shaming. In addition, generosity was routinely encouraged and praised.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. Aboriginally, the religious life of the Blackfoot centered upon medicine bundles, and there were more than fifty of them among the three main Blackfoot groups. The most important bundles to the group as a whole were the beaver bundles, the medicine pipe bundles, and the Sun Dance bundle. Christianity is practiced now by most Southern Piegan with Roman Catholicism predominating. The Blackfoot apparently never adopted the Ghost Dance, nor is the Peyote Cult present. The Sun Dance and other native religious ceremonies are still practiced among most of the Blackfoot groups.

Ceremonies. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the Sun Dance had become an important ceremony. It was performed once each year during the summer. The Sun Dance among the Blackfoot was similar to the ceremony that was performed in other Plains cultures, though there were some differences: a woman played the leading role among the Blackfoot, and the symbolism and paraphernalia used were derived from beaver bundle ceremonialism. The Blackfoot Sun Dance included the following: (1) moving the camp on four successive days; (2) on the fifth day, building the medicine lodge, transferring bundles to the medicine woman, and offering of gifts by children and adults in ill health; (3) on the sixth day, dancing toward the sun, blowing eagle-bone whistles, and self-torture; and (4) on the remaining four days, performing various ceremonies of the men's societies.

Arts. Singing groups were an important form of social intercourse. Porcupine quillwork was considered a sacred craft and some men were highly skilled painters of buffalo-skin shields and tipi covers. Today, achievement in traditional arts and crafts is valued as a sign of Indian identity. Consequently, there are skilled Blackfoot dancers, artists, carvers, leather- and beadworkers, orators, and singers whose work is known both within and beyond Blackfoot society.

Medicine. Illness was attributed to an evil spirit entering the body. Treatment by the shaman was directed at removing the spirit through singing, drumming, and the like. Some practitioners specialized in treating certain illnesses, setting broken bones, and so on.

Death and Afterlife. The dead were placed on a platform in a tree or the tipi, or on the floor of the tipi. Some property was left with the body for use in the next life. The Blackfoot feared the ghosts of the dead, and if a person died in a tipi, that tipi was never used again.

Bibliography

Hanks, Lucien M., and Jane R. Hanks (1950). Tribe under Trust: A Study of the Blackfoot Reserve of Alberta. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Hungry Wolf, Adolf (1977). The Blood People, a Division of the Blackfoot Confederacy: An Illustrated Interpretation of the Old Ways. New York: Harper & Row.

Hungry Wolf, Beverly (1980). The Ways of My Grandmothers. New York: William Morrow.

McFee, Malcolm (1972). Modern Blackfoot: Montanans on a Reservation. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Robbins, Lynn A. (1972). Blackfoot Families and Households. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms. Ph.D. diss., University of Oregon, 1971.

Wissler, Clark (1910). Material Culture of the Blackfoot Indians. New York: American Museum of Natural History.