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Blackfeet aka Blackfoot Native North Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock. They occupied in the early 19th cent. a large range of territory around the Upper Missouri (above the Yellowstone) and North Saskatchewan rivers W to the Rockies. Their name derives from the fact that they dyed their moccasins black. There were three main tribesthe Siksika, or Blackfoot proper; the Piegan; and the Kainah, or Blood. Although they did not form a unified political entity, they were united in defending their lands and in warfare. The Atsina (related to the Arapaho) and the Athapascan-speaking Sarsi were allied with the Blackfoot group. The Blackfoot were unremittingly hostile toward neighboring tribes and usually toward white men; intrusions upon Blackfoot lands were efficiently repelled. Prior to the mid-18th cent. they had moved into the N Great Plains area, acquired horses from southern tribes, and developed a nomadic Plains culture, largely dependent on the buffalo. Their only cultivated crop was tobacco, grown for ceremonial purposes. With the early coming of the white man, the Blackfoot gained wealth from the sale of beaver pelts, but the killing off of the buffalo and the near exhaustion of fur stocks brought them to near starvation. Presently the Blackfeet live on reservations in Montana and Alberta. They continue to a small degree the rich ceremonialism that earlier marked their religion; important rituals include the sun dance and the vision quest. See J. C. Ewers, The Blackfeet: Raiders on the Northwestern Plains (1958, repr. 1967); H. A. Dempsey, Crowfoot, Chief of the Blackfeet (1972); Malcolm McFee, Modern Blackfeet (1972); Bruno Nettl, Blackfoot Musical Thought (1989).
Blackfeet Nation
Click on any of the many page links here to learn about the location,
economy, government, history, and present circumstances of the Blackfoot
Nation.
http://www.blackfeetnation.com/
Blackfoot
Good essay about Blackfoot culture. Text only.
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/EthnoAtlas/Hmar/Cult_dir/Culture.7833
Blackfoot: Siksika
"In June 1992, Siksika became the first Nation to register its Symbol as a
Coat of Arms with the Heraldic Authority of Canada. It is listed as Volume
One, Number One in the First Nations section." It has a total population of
approximately 4,200 members. "Siksika are a part of the Blackfoot
Confederacy which also consists of the Piikani and Kainaiwa of southern
Alberta and the Blackfeet in the State of Montana."
http://www.treaty7.org/info/siksika.htm
Blackfoot: Treaty 7 Home Page
The signing of Treaty 7 occurred at "Blackfoot Crossing" which is located on
the Siksika Reserve east of Calgary. Its history is here along with many
other sections. One is "Documents," which contains partial and complete
books and reports about such issues as enforced Residential Schools.
http://www.treaty7.org/
In Our Own Voice
Read the brief but fascinating story about a war shirt -- it's illustrated
with a single photograph.
http://www.calexplorer.com/fnshrt01.html
BadgerWomansWeb - http://www.homestead.com/BadgerWomansWeb/Intro.html
Blackfoot storyteller and cultural educator, available for school and other children's events in Southern California.
Blackfeet Community College - http://www.msun.edu/stuaffairs/grants/eoc/bcc.htm
Located on the reservation in Browning, Montana.
Blackfeet Indians - http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/native/idx_bla.html
History of the tribe, from PBS Online.
Blackfeet Reservation Browning - http://www.trailofthegreatbear.com/esm/browning.html
Brief description of the reservation for the Blackfeet Nation.
Blackfeet: Land and Language is the Heritage - http://www.conbio.rice.edu/nae/docs/knudsen2.html
Links, articles, and bibliographies on environmental issues facing Native Americans in the U.S. and Canada.
Blackfoot - http://www.geocities.com/bigorrin/blac.htm
Background information and indexed links about Blackfoot culture, community, history, language, and genealogy.
Blackfoot - http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~conklin/pages/martin/html/blackfoot.htm
Information or photographs on traditional dress, food, religion and art, ceremonies, housing, language.
Blackfoot - http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=063CA000
Encarta Encyclopedia article about the Plains tribe.
Blackfoot Nation - http://www.blackfoot.org
Culture, spirituality, and politics of the Blackfoot people based in Montana and Alberta.
Blood Tribe - http://www.kainaiwa.com/
Official homepage of the Blood, or Kainaiwa, Blackfoot.
Indian Nations of Montana: Blackfeet - http://lewisandclark.state.mt.us/blackfeet.htm
Information about the current tribe and people.
The Flag of the Blackfeet Nation - http://users.aol.com/Donh523/navapage/blackfee.htm
Photograph and history of the flag.
Blackfoot Audio Samples - http://www.schoolnet.ca/aboriginal/audiosam/blackfot/black-e.html
Audio samples of the spoken Blackfoot language, with a brief biography of the speaker.
Blackfoot Language (Siksika, Piikani, Kainai) - http://www.geocities.com/bigorrin/blac.htm
Page dedicated to the Blackfoot language, also with information and links about Blackfoot culture, history, and genealogy.
Blackfoot Maintenance - http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/980619.atc.16.ram
NPR audio report on Blackfoot language maintenance efforts.
The Blackfoot Language - http://www.teleport.com/~napoleon/blackfoot/index.html
Description, audio sample, morphology, syntax, bibliography. |
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Native American Nations
