Tribe of the Rocky Mountains.

Carrie Eve Shirley Jespersen

October 29^th, 2008

“Oki!”  This traditional Algonquin greeting which means “hello” is one that you might have heard if you lived among the Blackfoot tribe.  This nation consists of the Kaina, Siksika and Pikani whose traditional lands were the plains east of the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the United States. 

          Within their territory, the Blackfoot people hunted and gathered their food.  In the plains were numerous deer, elk, and buffalo which this tribe killed and ate.  In June, bands would gather for the annual tribal buffalo hunt.  If they had no food, they ate pemmican that is buffalo meat, lard and saskatoons mashed together, dried, ground up and stored.  In addition, the Blackfoot band collected plants to make medicinal herbal remedies.  These First Nations people stayed alive by hunting animals and collecting berries.

          In order to survive, the tribe needed both the men and women to fill their specific roles.  The men’s roles were to patrol their territory protecting the Blackfoot tribe, to hunt animals and to scout for enemies.  Women’s roles were to take care of the children and to teach them to respect the sacred bundles.  They also made pemmican, herbal medicines, and tanned hides for making clothes and tipis.  It is clear that men and women were equal with their work.

          Clothing varied for seasons and also for gender.  Traditional Blackfoot clothing in the winter included buffalo and beaver fur hats, mittens, moccasins and long robes with the hair still inside for warmth.  In summer, men wore a breech cloth, moccasins and sometimes cow rawhide pants.  Women wore a shirt of cow skin or buckskin with no sleeves but with a shawl.  They also wore gowns of tanned elk, deer, sheep or antelope and moccasins.  Throughout the year, both men and women wore belts for knives, necklaces and earrings of shells, bone, wood, teeth and claws.  Men were known for wearing more jewellery than the women. 

          Blackfoot shelters as well were decorated.  You could recognize the camps by their tipis which were painted with symbols inspired by their dreams.  Tipis were built to face east and in the winter were positioned in the woods for protection against the wind and cold.  In winter the shelters, made from sticks and skins, and were built so that the fur faced the inside to keep in warmth.  Mud was packed on the outside to stop snow and wind from getting inside as well.  When the nomadic tribe moved, they left behind the tipi posts and took the buffalo skins with them to the new area to rebuild with new posts that they found. 

          The Blackfoot tribe was unique in how it gathered and hunted food.  As well, the men’s and women’s roles were important to the tribe.  Both the clothing and the shelters were decorated and varied for seasons.  It is evident that the Blackfoot tribe could survive through their harsh environment because they utilized their surrounding nature.

Works Cited

Blackfoot Gallery Committee.

The Story of the Blackfoot People. New York; Firefly Books, 2001.

Blackfoot People.

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/trives/blackfeet/howtheylived.htm

Stout,Mary. Blackfoot.Milwakee:

          Gareth Stevens, 2005.

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Posted by cairo

I find indians interesting too, wouldn't it be fun to try to live like they did?? we could sleep in tipis, and eat only what we could make ourselves over a camp fire, we should ty it sometime!!
cairo

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Posted by cairo

and we could make everybody an outfit out of leather and beads, and we could paint our faces!!!!

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Posted by granny

This is really good Carrie. Is this research writing that you did for Mrs. Martin. It is very nicely done, and interesting to read.

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