Blackfoot Confederation , Niitsitapi or Siksikaitsitapi ( ????? ? , meaning "people" or "Blackfoot native speakers") is a historic collective name for the four bands that make up Blackfoot or Blackfeet: the three governments of the First Nation band in Saskatchewan province, Alberta , and British Columbia, and a federal Native American tribe in Montana, USA. The Siksika ("Blackfoot"), Kainai or Kainah ("Blood"), and the North Piegan or Peigan or Piikani ("Apa'tosee") are in Canada; Southern Piegan/Piegan Blackfeet ("Amskapi Piikani" or Pikuni) is located in the United States, where they are also known as the Blackfeet Nation. In modern usage, this term is sometimes used only for the First Three Countries in Canada.
Historically, Confederate members of the community are nomadic bison hunters and trout fishermen, which range in large areas of the Great Plains of northern North America, especially the semi-arid pasture areas. They follow a herd of bulls as they migrate between what is now the United States and Canada, as far north as the Bow River. In the first half of the 18th century, they bought horses and firearms from white merchants and their Cree and Assiniboine. Blackfoot uses this to expand their territory at the expense of neighboring tribes. By riding horses and using them for transporting goods, Blackfoot and other Lowland tribes can extend their range of buffalo hunting.
In the mid to late 19th century, the commercial hunt of commercial bison by white hunters almost ended bulls and permanently changed the lives of Native Americans in the Great Plains, because their main food source was no longer abundant. Periods of hunger and deprivation followed. The Blackfoot tribe, like other lowland Indians, is forced to adopt farms and farms, settling in permanent places. In the 1870s, their bands signed an agreement with the United States and Canada, surrendering most of their land in exchange for food annuities and medical aid, as well as assistance in farming studies. But Blackfoot has sought to preserve their traditional language and culture in the face of assimilationist policies from the US and Canada.
Video Blackfoot Confederacy
Membership
Originally the Blackfoot/Plains Confederation consisted of three people ("nation", "tribe", "tribe") based on kinship and dialect, but all spoke the common language of Blackfoot, one of Algonquian's family. The three are PiikÃÆ'¡ni (historically called "Piege Blackfeet" in English sources), KÃÆ'¡ÃÆ'naa (called "Bloods"), and > Siksiká wa ("Blackfoot"). They then associate with unrelated Tsuu T'ina ("Sarcee"), which became merged into the Confederation and, (for a while) with Atsina, or A ' aninin ( Gros Ventre ).
Each of these highly decentralized people is divided into many bands, ranging from 10 to 30 loge, or about 80 to 240 people. The band is the basic unit of the organization to hunt and survive.
The largest ethnic group in the Confederation is Piegan , also spelled Peigan or Pikuni . Their name comes from the term Blackfoot PiikÃÆ'¡ni . They are divided into the Piasii Nation ( AapátohsipikÃÆ'¡ni ("companion there") or simply PiikÃÆ'¡ni ) in Alberta today, and South Peigan or Piegan Blackfeet ( AamsskÃÆ'¡ÃÆ'¡pipikani ) in Montana, USA. The large and powerful Piegan division was Inuk'sik ("human") in southwest Montana. Today they only survive as a clan or band of South Peigan.
Modern Kainai Nation is called by the term Blackfoot KÃÆ'¡ÃÆ'naa , meaning "Many Heads". This is historically also called "Blood," from the name of Plains Cree for Kainai: Miko-Ew , which means "bloodied" (ie "bloodthirsty, cruel"). Common English names for tribes are Blood or Blood tribe.
The name Siksika Nation comes from SiksikÃÆ'¡wa, which means "People like". Siksika also calls themselves Sao-kitapiiksi, which means "Plains People".
The Sarcee calls themselves Tsu T'ina, which means "a large number of people." During the early years of the conflict, Blackfoot called them Saahsi or Sarsi , "stubborn", in their language [citation needed]. Sarcee comes from a completely different language family; they are part of the Athabascan or Denae language family, most of whose members are in Subarctic of Northern Canada. In particular, Sarcee is a branch of Beaver (Danezaa) people, who migrated southward to the plains sometime in the early eighteenth century. They later joined the Confederacy and basically joined Pikuni ("Once").
The Gros Ventre people call themselves Haaninin ("white clay people"), also spelled A'aninin. The French call them Gros Ventres ("fat belly"), misinterpreting the physical sign for the waterfall; and the English call them the Fall Indians, linked to a waterfall in the mountains. The Blackfoot refers to them as Piik-siik-sii-naa ("snake") or Atsina ("like Cree"), due to the year of hostility. Early scholars thought A'aninin was associated with the Arapaho Nation, which inhabited the Missouri Valley and moved west to Colorado and Wyoming. They allied themselves with Confederates from around 1793 to 1861, but came to a dispute and became the enemy of it afterwards.
Confederates occupy a large area where they hunt and feed; in the 19th century divided by the current Canada-US international border. But during the late nineteenth century, both governments forced the people to end their nomadic traditions and settled in "Indian reserves" (Canadian terminology) or "Indian reservation" (US terminology). The South Peigan is the only group that chose to settle in Montana. Three others who speak Blackfoot and Sarcee are in Alberta. Together, Blackfoot-speakers call themselves NiitsÃÆ'tapi ("Orang Asli"). After leaving the Confederation, Gros Ventres also settled on a reservation in Montana.
When these people are forced to end their nomadic tradition, their social structure changes. Tribal countries, formerly mostly ethnic associations, were instituted as governments (referred to as "tribes" in the United States and "bands" or "First Nations" in Canada). The Piegan is divided into North Peigan in Alberta, and South Peigan in Montana.
Maps Blackfoot Confederacy
History
The Confederation has an area stretching from the North Saskatchewan River (called PonokÃÆ'¡'sisaahta ) along what is now Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada, to the Yellowstone River (called Otahkoiitahtayi ) from Montana in the United States, and from the Rocky Mountains (called Miistakistsi ) and along the South Saskatchewan River to the Alberta-Saskatchewan border (called Kaayihkimikoyi ), east past the Cypress Hills. They call their tribal area Niitsitpiis-stahkoii (??????????) - "The Land of the Original People." To the east, Innu and Naskapi call their territory Nitassinan - "Our Land." They have adopted the use of horses from other Plains tribes, perhaps in the early eighteenth century, which gave them wider reach and mobility, as well as profits in hunting.
The basic social unit of Niitsitapi above the family is a band, varying from about 10 to 30 huts, about 80 to 241 people. (Canadian Europeans and Americans mistakenly refer all nations of Niitsitapi as "Blackfoot", but only one nation is called Siksika or Blackfoot.) This size group is large enough to be maintained. fighting attacks and doing communal hunting, but also small enough for flexibility. Each band consists of a respected leader, perhaps his siblings and his parents, and other unrelated people. Since the band is defined by a place of residence, not by kinship, one is free to leave one band and join another band, which tends to improve leadership disputes. In addition, if the band is having trouble, its members can split up and join other bands. In practice, bands continue to form and break up. This system maximizes flexibility and is the ideal organization to hunt down people in the Great Plains in the northwest.
During the summer, people gather for a nation meeting. In this great assembly, soldier society plays an important role for men. Membership into these societies is based on courageous actions and deeds.
For nearly half a year in the long northern winter, Niitsitapi lives in their winter camps along a forested river valley. They may lie a day after separation, not moving camps except food for people and horses, or firewood being exhausted. Where there is adequate wood and game resources, some bands will camp together. During this part of the year, buffalo also linger in forested areas, where they are partially protected from storms and snow. They are easier to eat because of their stunted movement. In the spring, buffaloes move to the meadow to find food in the new spring. Blackfoot did not follow immediately, for fear of a late snow storm. As the food or dry game becomes exhausted, the bands will split up and start chasing the buffalo.
In mid-summer, when mature chokecherries, people reunite for their main ceremony, Okan (Sun Dance). This is the only time of year when four nations will gather. This meeting strengthened the bond between the various groups and individuals associated with the nations. Communal bullfrog hunting provides food for people, as well as bull's offerings (delights) for ceremonies. This ceremony is sacred to the people. After Okan , people are again separated to follow the buffalo. They use buffalo skin to make their temporary shelter and place.
In the fall, people will gradually shift to their winter areas. The men will prepare buffalo and pound leaps to catch or ride a bull to hunt. Some groups of people may join together on excellent sites, such as Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. When the buffalo is naturally pushed into the area by a slowly dry summer of open grassland, Blackfoot will commit the massive communal buffalo killing.
The women process buffalo, prepare dried meat, and combine them for nutrition and flavor with dried fruits into pemmican, to survive during winter and other times when bad hunting. In late fall, Blackfoot will move to their winter camp. The women worked with buffalo and other game skins for clothing, as well as to strengthen their residence; other elements are used to make warm fur coats, leggings, straps and other needed items. Animal nerves are used to bind arrows and spears to throw sticks, or for bridles for horses.
The Niitsitapi retained this traditional way of life based on the hunting bison, until the bison's near extinction in 1881 forced them to adapt their way of life in response to the encroachment of European settlers and their descendants. In the United States, they were restricted to land assigned to the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. Nearly three decades later, they were given different reservations in the Sweetwoods Hills Agreement of 1887. In 1877, Niitsitapi Canada signed Treaty 7 and settled in reserves in southern Alberta.
It begins a period of great struggle and economic hardship; Niitsitapi must try to adapt to a completely new way of life. They suffered high mortality rates when exposed to Eurasian disease, where they did not have natural immunity.
Finally, they established a viable economy based on agriculture, livestock, and light industry. Their population has risen to about 16,000 in Canada and 15,000 in the US today. With their new economic stability, Niitsitapi has been free to adapt their culture and tradition to their new state, renewing their relationship with their ancient roots.
Initial history
The Niitsitapi, also known as Blackfoot or Blackfeet Indians, resides in the Great Plains of Montana and the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada. Only one Niitsitapi tribe called Blackfoot or Siksika. Its name is said to come from the color of mokasin people, made of leather. They usually color or paint their black moccasin shoe soles. One of the legendary stories claims that Siksika goes through the ashes of prairie fire, which in turn color the bottom of their black moccasins.
Due to language and cultural patterns, anthropologists believe that Niitsitapi does not originate from the Great Plains of the Midwest of North America, but migrates from the northeastern part of the country. They united as a group while living in the forest in what is now the Northeast United States. They are mostly located around the modern frontier between Canada and the state of Maine. In 1200, Niitsitapi moved in search of more land. They moved west and settled for a while north of the Great Lakes in Canada today, but had to compete for resources with the tribes. They left the Great Lakes area and continued moving west.
When they moved, they usually packed their belongings on an A-shaped sled called travois. Travois is designed for transport on dry land. Blackfoot relies on dogs to attract travois ; they did not have horses until the 18th century. From the Great Lakes area, they continue to move west and eventually settle in the Great Plains.
The terrain has covered about 780,000 square miles (2,000,000 km 2 ) with the Saskatchewan River to the north, the Rio Grande to the south, the Mississippi River to the east, and the Rocky Mountains to the west. Adopting the use of horses, Niitsitapi established themselves as one of the most powerful Indian tribes in the Plains at the end of the 18th century, earning themselves the name "The Lords of the Plains." Niitsitapi's stories track their abode and have their plain territory for "ancient times."
Importance and usage of bison
The main food source of Niitsitapi in the plains is the American bison (buffalo), the largest mammal in North America, standing around 6 <1 / 2 feet (2.0 m) tall and weigh up to 2,000 pounds (910 kg). Before the introduction of horses, Niitsitapi needed another way to get the range. The buffalo jump is one of the most common ways. The hunters will collect the buffalo into a V-shaped pen, and push them over the cliff (they hunt down the pronghorn antelope in the same way). After that the hunters will go down and take as much meat as they can bring to the camp. They also use camouflage to hunt. The hunters will take buffalo skins from previous hunting trips and hang them on their bodies to blend in and cover their scent. With subtle movements, the hunters can approach the herd. When close enough, hunters will attack with an arrow or a spear to kill an injured animal.
People use almost all parts of body and skin. Women prepare meat for food: by boiling, grilling or drying for jerky. These are processed to last long without harm, and they rely on bison meat to pass through the winter. The winters are long, hard, and cold because of the lack of trees in the Highlands, so people hoard meat in the summer. As a ritual, hunters often eat the heart of bison a few minutes after the killing. The women disguise and prepare the skin to cover the tepees. It is made of wooden blocks, with leather covering it. The tepes stay warm in winter and cool in summer, and are a great shield against the wind.
The women also make leather outfits, such as robes and mokasin, and make soap from fat. Both men and women make equipment, sew needles and equipment from bone, using tendons to bind and bind. The abdomen and bladder are cleaned and prepared for use to store fluids. Dry bison dung is a fuel for fire. Niitsitapi assume the animal is sacred and integral in their life.
Discovery and use of horses
Until about 1730, Blackfoot traveled on foot and used dogs to carry and pull some of their items. They had not seen horses in their land before, but were introduced to them in the Highlands, because other tribes, like Shoshone, had adopted their use. They see the advantages of the horse and want it. The Blackfoot calls the ponokamita horses (deer). The horses can carry more weight than dogs and move at greater speed. They can be driven to hunt and travel.
Horses revolutionized life in the Great Plains and were soon regarded as a measure of wealth. The soldiers regularly raid other tribes for their best horses. Horses are generally used as universal barter standards. Medicines are paid to heal and heal with horses. Those who design shields or war caps are also paid on horses. The men gave horses to those who owed the parcel and to the needy. One's wealth increases with the number of horses collected, but a man does not save much of them. Prestige and individual status are judged by the number of horses he can give. For Indians living in the Lowlands, the main value of property is to share with others.
After expelling the hostile Shoshone and Arapaho from the Northwestern Plains, Niitsitapi began in 1800 in a long phase of fierce competition in the trade of feathers with their former Cree allies, who were often militarily increasing. In addition the two groups had adapted using horses around 1730, so by mid-century a considerable stock of horses was a question of survival. Horse theft at this stage is not only a testament to courage, but often a desperate contribution to survival, as many ethnic groups compete for hunting in the meadows.
The Cree and Assiniboine continue to rob the horses against Gros Ventre (in Cree: Pawistiko Iyiniwak - "People Rapids" - "People of the Rapids"), Niitsitapi ally. The Gros Ventres are also known as Niya Wati Inew , Enemy and cultural fighter
Blackfoot warfare will climb hundreds of miles in attack. A boy at his first battle party was given a silly or insulting name. But after he stole his first horse or killed an enemy, he was named in his honor. The fighters will try to do various acts of boldness called counting coup, to rise social rank. Coups in order of importance are: take a gun from a living enemy and or touch him directly; catching spears, and bows; scalping enemies; kill enemies; freeing the horse from the front of an enemy hut; leading a war party; lurking for battle parties; stealing head cover, shield, pipe (sacred ceremonial pipe); and riding a swarm of stolen horses back to the camp.
Niitsitapi is the enemy of Crow, Cheyenne ( kiihtsipimiitapi -? Pinto People?), And Sioux (Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota) (called pinaapisinaa - "East Cree") in Great Plains; and Shoshone, Flathead, Kalispel, Kootenai (called kotonÃÆ'¡ÃÆ'¡'wa ) and Nez Perce (called komonÃÆ'³ÃÆ'tapiikoan ) in the mountain country in the west and southwest. Their most powerful and most dangerous enemies, however, are the political/military/trade alliances of the Iron Confederation or Nehiyaw-Pwat (in Plains Cree: Nehiyaw - 'Cree' and Pwat or Pwat-sak - 'Sioux, that is Assiniboine') - named after the Cree Plains that dominate (called Asinaa ) and Assiniboine (called < i> NiitsÃÆ'sinaa - "Original Cree"). This includes Stoney (called SaahsÃÆ'¡ÃÆ'sso'kitaki or Sahsi-sokitaki -? Sarcee trying to cut?), Saulteaux (or Plains Ojibwe), and MÃÆ' © tis to north , east and southeast.
With the expansion of Nehiyaw-Pwat to the north, west and southwest, they integrate larger groups Iroquois, Chipewyan, Danezaa ( Dunneza - 'Real (prototypical) ), Ktunaxa, Flathead, and then Gros Ventre (called atsÃÆ'ÂÆ'na - "Gut People" or "like a Cree"), in their local group. Associates are loosely with Nehiyaw-Pwat , but politically independent, are neighboring tribes such as Ktunaxa, Secwepemc and especially the fate of Blackfoot, Crow, or Indian trading partners such as Nez Perce and Flathead.
Shoshone bought horses faster than Blackfoot and soon occupied most of Alberta today, mostly Montana, and partly Wyoming, and raided Blackfoot as often as possible. After Piegan gained access to their own horses and weapons, obtained from HBC via Cree and Assiniboine, the situation changed. In 1787 David Thompson reported that Blackfoot had completely conquered most of the Shoshone region, and often arrested Shoshone women and children and forcibly assimilated them into the Blackfoot community, further enhancing their lead over Shoshone. Thompson reported that the Blackfoot area in 1787 originated from the North Saskatchewan River in the north to the Missouri River in the South, and from the Rocky Mountains in the west to a distance of 300 miles (480 km) to the east.
Between 1790 and 1850, Nehiyaw-Pwat were at the peak of their strength; they can successfully defend their territory against Sioux (Lakota, Nakota and Dakota) and the Niitsitapi Confederation. During the so-called Buffalo Wars (around 1850 - 1870), they penetrated further and further into the territory of the Confederate Niitsitapi in search of buffalo, so Piegan was forced to surrender in the Missouri River region (at Cree: Pikano Sipi - "Muddy River", "Muddy, turbid River"), Kainai retreats to Bow River and Belly River; only Siksika can control their tribal lands along the Red Deer River. Around 1870, an alliance between Blackfoot and Gros Ventre broke out, and the latter began to look to their old enemy, Southern Assiniboine (or Plains Assiniboine), for protection.
First contact with Europeans and feather trade
Anthony Henday of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) were met by a large group of Blackfoot in 1754 in what is now Alberta. The Blackfoot have established relationships with traders connected with Canada and British fur trade before meeting with the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1806. Lewis and Clark and the people they have started mapping the Louisiana Territory and the upper Missouri River to the United States government.
On their return journey from the Pacific Coast, Lewis and three of his men met a group of young Blackfoot warriors with a large herd of horses, and it was clear to Meriwether Lewis that they were not far from a much larger group of soldiers. Lewis explained to them that the US government wants peace with all Indian states, and that US leaders have succeeded in forming alliances with other Indian states. The group camped together that night, and at dawn there was a fight because it was discovered that Blackfoot tried to steal a weapon and run off with their horses while the Americans slept. In the ensuing struggle, a knight was stabbed fatal and another shot by Lewis and allegedly killed.
In the years that followed, the American mountain men trapped in Blackfoot's country generally faced hostilities. When John Colter, a Lewis and Clark expedition member, returned to Blackfoot country soon after, he almost escaped with his life. In 1809, Colter and his colleagues trapped in the Jefferson River by canoe as they were surrounded by hundreds of Blackfoot soldiers riding on both sides of the river bank. Colter's friend, John Potts, did not give up and was killed. Colter was stripped of his clothes and forced to run for his life, having been given a head start (famous in Western history as "Colter's Run.") He eventually escaped by reaching a river five miles away and diving under a floating wooden or beaver dam , where he remained hidden until after nightfall. He traveled 300 miles to a fortress.
In the context of tribal political shifts due to the spread of horses and weapons, Niitsitapi initially tried to increase their trade with HBC merchants at Rupert's Land while blocking access to HBC by neighboring communities to the West. But the HBC trade has finally reached what is now British Columbia inland.
"In the late 1820s, [this prompted] Niitsitapiksi, and especially Piikani, whose territory is rich in beavers, [to] temporarily remove cultural restrictions and environmental constraints to trap large numbers of these animals and, in turn, accept large quantities of merchandise ".
HBC encourages Niitsitapiksi to trade by establishing a post on the North Saskatchewan River, on the northern border of their territory. In the 1830s, the wider Rocky Mountain and Saskatchewan districts were the most profitable HBC, and Rocky Mountain House was HBC's busiest post. It's mainly used by Piikani. Other Niitsitapiksi countries traded more in peat and buffalo skin than beavers, and visited other outposts like Fort Edmonton.
Meanwhile, in 1822, American Fur Company entered the Upper Missouri area from the south for the first time, without Niitsitapiksi permission. This led to tension and conflict until 1830, when a peaceful trade was established. This was followed by the opening of Fort Piegan as America's first trading post in the Niitsitapi region in 1831, joining Fort MacKenzie in 1833. The Americans offered better trading terms and were more interested in buffalo skin than HBC, which brought them more. trading from Niitsitapi. HBC responded by building Bow Fort (Peigan Post) on the Bow River in 1832, but it did not work.
In 1833, German explorer Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied and Swiss painter Karl Bodmer spent months with Niitsitapi to gain a sense of their culture. Bodmer describes their society in paintings and drawings.
Contact with Europeans led to the spread of infectious diseases to Niitsitapi, mostly cholera and smallpox. In an example in 1837, an American Fur Steamboat Company, St. Peter , heading to Fort Union and several passengers suffering from smallpox on the road. They continue to send smaller vessels with further supplies to the river for a post among Niitsitapi. Niitsitapi suffered from the disease and eventually 6,000 people died, marking the end of their dominance among the tribes over the Lowlands. Hudson's Bay companies do not require or assist their employees to get vaccinated; British physician Edward Jenner has developed a technique 41 years earlier but its use has not been widespread.
Indian Wars
Like many other Great Plains Indian states, Niitsitapi often has hostile relationships with white settlers. Regardless of hostility, Blackfoot survives most of the Great Plains Indian War, not fighting or seeking US troops. One of their friendly bands, however, was attacked by mistake and almost destroyed by the US Army in the Marias Massacre on January 23, 1870, which was carried out as an act to suppress violence against settlers. Friendly relations with North-West Installed Police and learning the brutality of the Marias Massacre made Blackfoot not involved in the war against Canada and the United States.
When the Lakota, along with their Cheyenne and Arapaho allies, fought against the United States Army, they sent runners into the Blackfoot area, urging them to join the battle. Crowfoot, one of Blackfoot's most influential heads, rejected the Lakota delegates. He threatened to ally with the NWMP to fight them if they came north to the Blackfoot country again. News of Crowfoot loyalty reached Ottawa and from there London; Queen Victoria praises Crowfoot and Blackfoot for their loyalty. Despite his threat, Crowfoot later meets with the Lakota men who escaped with Sitting Bull to Canada after defeating George Armstrong Custer and his battalion at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Crowfoot considers Lakota to become a refugee and sympathize with their dispute, but retain its anti-war stance. Bull and Crowfoot's sitting fostered peace between the two countries by offering ceremonial tobacco, ending hostilities between them. Sitting Bull was so impressed by Crowfoot that he named one of his sons after him.
The Blackfoot also chose to stay out of the Northwest Rebellion, led by renowned leader Louis Riel. Louis Riel and his men were added to the already uneasy conditions facing Blackfoot by camping near them. They try to spread dissatisfaction with the government and get a strong ally. The Northwest Uprising consists mainly of MÃÆ'Â © tis, Assiniboine (Nakota) and the Cree Plains, all fighting against European encroachment and the destruction of the Bison cattle. The Plains Cree is one of Blackfoot's most hated enemies; However, the two countries are at peace when Crowfoot adopts the Poundmaker, an influential leader Cree and a great peace maker, as his son. Though he refused to fight, Crowfoot sympathized with those who committed insurrections, notably Cree who was led by notable leaders such as Poundmaker, Big Bear, Wandering Spirit and Fine-Day.
When news of Blackfoot's continued neutrality reached Ottawa, Lord Lansdowne, the governor-general, thanked Crowfoot again on behalf of the Queen in London. Sir John A. Macdonald's Cabinet (then Canadian Prime Minister) gave Crowfoot a standing ovation.
Difficulty from Niitsitapi
During the mid-1800s, Niitsitapi faced a reduced supply of food, as European-American hunters were employed by the US government to kill bison so Blackfeet would remain in their reservations. Settlers also cross their borders. Without the water buffalo, Niitsitapi was forced to rely on the United States government for food supplies. In 1855, Niitsitapi's chief, Lame Bull made a peace deal with the United States government. The Lame Bull Treaty promises Niitsitapi $ 20,000 per year in goods and services instead of moving to a reservation.
In 1860, very few buffaloes remained, and Niitsitapi became entirely dependent on government supplies. Often food is spoiled when they receive it, or supplies fail to come at all. Hungry and desperate, Blackfoot raided the white settlement for food and supplies, and criminals on both sides pose a problem.
The show is catalyzed by Owl Child, a young Piegan warrior who stole a herd of horses in 1867 from an American merchant named Malcolm Clarke. Clarke retaliated by tracking Owl Child down and beating him cruelly at the Owl Child camp, and embarrassing him. According to Piegan's oral history, Clarke has also raped Owl Child's wife. However, Clarke has long been married to Coth-co-co-na, a Piegan woman who is Owl Child's cousin. The woman who was raped gave birth to a child due to the rape, which, according to oral history, was said to have died or been killed by the band's elders. Two years after the beating, in 1869, Owl Child and several colleagues killed Clarke at his ranch after dinner, and wounded his son Horace. The public outcry from the news of the event caused General Philip Sheridan to send a cavalry herd, led by Major Eugene Baker, to find Owl Child and his camp and punish them.
On January 23, 1870, a Piegan Indian camp was discovered by a reconnaissance army and reported to the cavalry that was sent, but it was mistakenly identified as a hostile band. About 200 soldiers surrounded the camp next morning and prepared for the ambush. Before the order to shoot, the head of the Heavy Runner was alerted to the soldiers on a snowy cliff above the camp. He walked toward them, carrying a paper to behave safely. Heavy Runner and his group of Piegans share the peace between American settlers and troops at the time of the incident. Heavy Runner was shot and killed by scout troop Joe Cobell, whose wife was part of a hostile Mount Head camp, further along the river, from whom he wanted to distract. Fellow scouts Joe Kipp had realized the mistake and tried to signal the troops. He was threatened by cavalry for reporting that the people they attacked were friendly.
After the death of the Heavy Runner, the soldiers attacked the camp. According to their count, they killed Piegan and only suffered one US Army casualty, who fell from his horse and broke his leg, died of complications. Most of the victims were women, children and the elderly, as most of the younger men were hunting. The Army picked up 140 Piegan prisoners and then released them. With the camps and their possessions destroyed, they suffered terribly from exposure, making their way as refugees to Fort Benton.
India's largest massacre ever conducted by US forces
When the slaughtering report was gradually studied in the east, US congressmen and the press were angry. General William Sherman reported that most of the dead were soldiers under the Mountain Head. The official inquiry never took place, and no official monument marked the place of the massacre. Compared to events like the massacre in Wounded Knee and Sand Creek, Marias Massacre is still unknown. However, it confirms President Ulysses S. Grant in his decision not to allow the Army to take over the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as has been suggested to fight corruption among Indian agents. Grant chose to appoint many Quakers to that position when he pursued a peace policy with Native Americans.
Cree and Assiniboine also suffered from the lack of buffalo. In 1850, livestock was found almost exclusively in the Blackfoot area. Therefore, in 1870 various bands Nehiyaw-Pwat started the last attempt to get their prey, by starting a war. They hope to defeat Blackfoot who is weakened by smallpox and attack a camp near Fort Whoop-Up (called Akaisakoyi - Many Dead). But they were defeated at the Battle of the Belly River (near Lethbridge, called Assini-etomochi - where we slaughtered Cree) and lost more than 300 soldiers. The following winter, hunger forced them to negotiate with Niitsitapi, with whom they made lasting peace last.
The United States passed a law that had a negative impact on Niitsitapi. In 1874, the US Congress voted to change the reservation border of Niitsitapi without discussing it with Niitsitapi. They did not receive land or other compensation for the lost land, and in response, Kainai, Siksika, and Piegan moved to Canada; only Pikuni lives in Montana.
The winter of 1883-1884 was known as "Starvation Winter" because there was no government supply coming in, and the buffalo had left. That winter, 600 Niitsitapi died of starvation.
In an attempt to assimilate Native Americans in European-American ways, in 1898, the government dismantled tribal governments and banned the practice of traditional Indian religion. They require Blackfoot children to go to boarding school, where they are forbidden to speak their native language, practice habits, or wear traditional clothes. In 1907, the United States government adopted a policy of reserving land allotted to each head of the family to encourage family farming and to break communal tribal lands. Each household receives an area of ​​160 hectares (65 hectares), and the government declares the remaining "surplus" for tribal needs. It is put up for sale for development. Allotment is too small to support agriculture on dry plains. The dry season of 1919 destroyed crops and increased the cost of beef. Many Indians are forced to sell their land and pay the taxes that their government accepts.
In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act, endorsed by the Franklin D. Roosevelt government, ended allotments and allowed the tribes to vote for their own government. They are also allowed to practice their culture. In 1935, the Blackfeet Nation of Montana started the Tribal Business Council. After that, they wrote and ratified their own Constitution, with elected representative government.
Blackfoot nation
Blackfoot nation consists of four countries. These countries include Piegan Blackfeet, Siksika, Piikani Nation, and Kainai or Indian Blood. The four countries unite to form what is known as the Blackfoot Confederation, meaning that they have united to help each other. Countries have separate self-government ruled by a tribal chief, but regularly come together for religious and social celebrations. Today the only Blackfoot country still to be found within the US border is Piegan, or Pikuni, who is in Montana.
Culture
Choose a leader
The family is greatly appreciated by the Blackfoot Indians. For traveling, they are also divided into bands with 20-30 people, but will come together for celebration moments. They value leadership skills and choose leaders who will run their settlements wisely. During peacetime, people will choose a head of peace, which means someone who can lead people and improve relationships with other tribes. The title of war chief can not be obtained through election and must be obtained by successfully performing various acts of courage including touching the living enemy. Blackfoot bands often have a small head next to a designated head.
Society
Inside the Blackfoot people, there are different societies in which people originate, each of which has a function for the tribe. Young people are invited into society after proving themselves with recognized parts and rituals. For example, a young man should do a vision search, beginning with a spiritual cleansing in a sweat hut. They left the camp alone for four days fasting and praying. Their main goal is to see a vision that will explain their future. After having a vision, a young man returns to the village ready to join the community.
In combatant societies, people must be ready to fight. Again, the soldiers will prepare with spiritual cleansing, then paint themselves symbolically; they often paint their horses for war too. The soldier's community leader carries a spear or spear called a baton stick, which is adorned with feathers, skins, and other tokens. They won prestige by "counting the coup", knocking enemies with sticks and leaving.
Members of religious communities protect sacred Blackfoot items and perform religious ceremonies. They bless the soldiers before the battle. Their main ceremony is Sun Dance, or the Medicine Lodge Ceremony. By engaging in Sun Dance, their prayers will be brought to the Creator, who will bless them with the well-being and abundance of buffaloes.
Women's societies also have important responsibilities for the communal tribe. They designed fine quillwork on clothes and ceremonial shields, helped prepare the battle, prepared leather and cloth for clothing, nursed children and taught them tribal, skinning and tanning leather used for clothing and other necessities, prepared fresh and dry food, and performing ceremonies to help hunters on their way.
Ethnobotany
Sage and sweet grass are both used by Blackfoot and other Plains for ritual purposes and considered sacred plants. Sage and sweet grass are burned with the users inhale and cover themselves in smoke in a widely known process as a strand. Sage is said to cleanse the body from negative emotions such as anger. Sweet grass is said to attract positive energy. Both are used for purification purposes. A pleasant and natural smell of burnt grass is said to attract spirits. Sweet grass is prepared for a ceremony by braiding the stick together and then drying it before it is burned.
Sweet grasses are also often present and burned in a smoking pipe mix with bearberry and red willow plants. Pipe smoke is said to bring prayer users to the creators with rising smoke. Large drug bags that are often decorated with ornate beaded designs are used by drug people to bring wise, sweet grass, and other vital plants. Blackfoot also uses the smoke of sweet grass, or sachet of sweet grass in their clothes, as an effective repellent insect.
They apply the asphalt pile of Asclepias viridiflora to swelling, for "diarrhea rash", rash, to sore gums in breastfed babies and sick eyes. They also chew on Asclepias viridiflora root for sore throats, and use plants for seasoning soup, and use fresh roots for food. They use Viola adunca, apply infusion of roots and leaves to sick and swollen joints, infusing leaves and roots to asthmatic children, and using plants to color their blue arrows.
Wedding
In the Blackfoot culture, men are responsible for choosing their marriage partners, but women have the option of accepting them or not. Men should show the female father his skills as a hunter or a fighter. If the father is impressed and approves of marriage, the man and woman will exchange horse and clothing gifts and are considered married. Married couples will live in their own tipi or with their husbands' families. Although he was allowed more than one wife, he usually only chose one. In the case of more than one wife, quite often men will choose sisters from wives, believing that sisters will not argue as much as strangers.
Responsibility and dress
In a typical Blackfoot family, dad would go out and hunt and bring back supplies that the family might need. The mother will stay close to home and watch over the children while the father is out. Children are taught basic survival skills and culture as they grow older. It is generally said that boys and girls learn to ride horses early on. Boys usually play with toy bows and arrows until they are old enough to learn to hunt.
They will also play a popular game called shinny, which came to be known as ice hockey. They used a long, curved wooden stick to hit the ball, made of burnt clay with deer skin, above the goal line. Girls are given a doll to play, which is also duplicated as a learning tool because it is made with tribal clothing and design and also teaches young women how to care for a child. As they grow older, more responsibility is placed on their shoulders. The girls were then taught to cook, prepare skin for the skin, and collect wild plants and berries. The children are responsible for going with their father to prepare food by hunting.
Usually clothing is made especially from the softened and deer deer and deer skin. Women will create and decorate clothes for everyone in the tribe. Men wear moccasin, long legging that goes up to their hips, wrists, and belts. Sometimes they will wear a shirt but generally they will wrap the buffalo cloak on their shoulders. The brave men will wear necklaces made of grizzly bear claws.
Boys are dressed as older men, wearing legging, worn, mokasin, and sometimes shirts that are not decorated. They keep warm by wearing a buffalo robe on their shoulders or over their heads when it gets cold. Women and girls wear dress made of two or three deer skins. Women are wearing decorative earrings and bracelets made of sea shells, acquired through trade with distant tribes, or various types of metals. They occasionally wear beads in their hair or draw a part in their red hair, indicating that they are old enough to give birth to children.
Headpieces
Similar to other Indian Plains, Blackfoot developed different types of headdresses that included elements of creatures that were important to them; it serves different purposes and symbolizes different associations. A typical war hat is made of eagle's feathers, because the bird is considered strong. It is worn by prestigious warriors and chiefs (including head-of-war) of Blackfoot. Upright headdress is a unique Blackfoot headdress that, like a war hat, is made with eagle feathers. The feathers on the head decoration point perpendicular straight up from the edge (hence the name). Often red feathers are attached to the front of the headdress; it also pointed straight up.
The split horn head decoration is very popular among the Highland Plains Indians, especially the countries in the Blackfoot Confederation. Many soldier societies, including the Blackfoot Horn Community, wore split-horn headdresses. The split-horn headdress is made from a single bison horn, split in two and re-shaped as a slimmer version of a full-sized bison horn, and polished. The horns were attached to the beaded hats, framed hats. The feather of the weasel (taken when carrying a heavy winter coat) is attached to the top of the headdress, and dangles from its sides. The side hair is often finished with a work of beads in which it attaches to the headdress. The same headdress, called the antelope head horn, is made in the same way using the horns or horns of the pronghorn antelope.
Black men, especially soldiers, sometimes wear cockroaches made of hedgehog hair. The hedgehog's feathers are most often colored red. Eagles and other bird feathers are sometimes attached to the roach.
The scalp of the buffalo, often with horns that are still attached and often with beaded borders, are also worn. The "turban" fur made of soft fur (most often the beaver) is also popular. The buffalo's head and turban bristles are worn in the winter to protect the head from the cold.
The Blackfoot continues to wear traditional headdresses at special ceremonies. They are mostly used by elected leaders, members of various traditional societies (including Horn communities, Crazy Dogs and Motokik), powwow dancers and spiritual leaders.
Sun and Moon
One of the most famous traditions held by Blackfoot is their story of the sun and moon. It begins with the family of a man, wife, and two sons, who live off berries and other foods they can collect, because they have no bow or arrow, or other tools. The man dreamed: he was told by the Creator of Prisoners, Napiu, or Napioa (depending on the band) to get big spider webs and put them on the road where the animals roam, and they would get trapped and could easily be killed with a stone ax. The man had done it and saw that it was true. One day, he came home with fresh meat from the trail and found his wife to apply perfume on himself. She thinks that she should have another lover because she has never done this before. He then tells his wife that he will move the web and asks if he can bring the meat and wood left behind outside of the previous hunt. He reluctantly came out and passed a hill. The wife looked back three times and saw her husband in the same place he left her, so he proceeded to take the meat. The father then asks his children if they go with their mother to look for wood, but they never have. But they know the location where he picked it up. The man set out and found the wood along with a rattlesnake, one of which was his wife's lover. He burned the wood and killed the snakes. He knew by doing this that his wife would become angry, so the man went home. He had the boys run away and give them sticks, stones, and moss to use if their mother chased them. He stays at home and puts a net on his doorstep. The wife tried to enter but became jammed and her legs cut off. He then put his head down and he cut it too. While the body follows the husband to the creek, the head follows the children. The oldest boy saw the head behind them and tossed the stick. The stick turned into a big forest. The head got through, so the younger brother instructed the elder to throw the stone. He did it, and where the rock landed a great mountain appeared. It stretches from the big water (ocean) to the big water and the head is forced to pass through it, not around it. Heads meet a group of rams and tells them that he will marry their heads if they break through the mountain. The tribal chief agrees and they attack until their horns are shabby, but this is still not finished. He then asked the ants if they could dig through the mountain on the same terms, it was approved and they got the rest of the way through. Children are far ahead, but finally see the head rolling behind them. The children wet the moss and squeeze it behind them. They are then on different ground. The country they have just left is now surrounded by water. Head rolled into the water and drowned. They decided to build a raft and come back. As soon as they returned to their land, they discovered that it was occupied by crows and snakes so they decided to split up.
One brother is simple and goes north to find what he can do and make people. The others are clever and go south to make the whites and teach them valuable skills. The simple brother created Blackfeet. He is known as the Left Hand, and then by Blackfeet as Old Man. The woman is still chasing the man: he is the moon and he is the sun, and if he ever catches it, it will always be night.
The story of Blackfoot creation
The creation myth is part of the Blackfoot oral history. It is said that at first, Napio hovered over the logs with four animals. The animals are: Mameo (fish), Matcekups (frogs), Maniskeo (lizard), and Sopeo (tortoise). Napio sends everything into deep water, one by one. The first three have come down and come back with nothing. The turtle descended and took the mud from below and gave it to Napio.
He took the mud and rolled it in his hand and created the earth. He let it slip from his hands and over time, it has grown to what it is today. After he created the earth, he created the first woman, followed by the man. He told them to live apart from each other. The men were shy and scared, but Napio told them not to be afraid and to take one as their wife. They have done what is required, and Napio continues to create buffalo and bows and arrows so that people can hunt them down.
Contemporary Blackfoot
Currently, many of Blackfoot live in reserve in Canada. Approximately 8,500 live in Montana reservations of 1,500,000 hectares (6,100 km 2 ). In 1896, Blackfoot sold most of their land to the United States government, hoping to find gold or copper deposits. No such mineral deposits are found. In 1910, the land was set aside as the Glacier National Park. Some Blackfoots work there and occasional Native American ceremonies are held there.
Unemployment is a challenging issue on the Blackfeet Reservation and in Canadian Blackfoot reserves, due to their isolation from large urban areas. Many people work as farmers, but there is not enough other work around it. To find work, many Blackfoot have moved from reservations to cities and towns. Some companies pay Blackfoot governments to lease land use to extract oil, natural gas, and other resources. Countries have operated businesses such as Blackfoot Writing Company, pen and pencil factory, which opened in 1972, but closed in the late 1990s. In Canada, North Piegan makes traditional handicraft and mokesin clothing, and Kainai operates a shopping mall and factory.
The Blackfoot continues to advance in education. In 1974, they opened Blackfoot Community College, a tribal college in Browning, Montana. The school is also the location of tribal headquarters. In 1979, the state government of Montana required all public school teachers on or near reservations to have a background in American Indian studies. In 1989, the Siksika in Canada finished high school to attend school with their primary school.
The Blackfeet Nation in Montana has a blue tribal flag. Flags show lance ceremony or stick coup with 29 feathers. The flag center contains rings of 32 white and black eagle feathers. Inside the ring there is an outline map of Blackfoot Reservation. Inside the map is depicted the headpiece of a fighter and the words "Blackfeet Nation" and "Pikuni" (the name of the tribe on Algonquian's original tongue of Blackfoot).
Advanced traditions
Blackfoot continues many cultural traditions in the past and hopes to extend their ancestral traditions to their children. They want to teach their children Pikuni language as well as other traditional knowledge. At the beginning of the 20th century, a white woman named Frances Densmore helped Blackfoot record their language. During the 1950s and 1960s, some Blackfoots speak Pikuni. To save their language, the Blackfoot Council asked elders who still knew the language to teach it. The elders have agreed and successfully revived the language, so today the children can learn Pikuni at school or at home. In 1994, the Blackfoot Board accepted Pikuni as the official language.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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