By Sarah Delaney & Emily .H. James Blackfoot By Sarah Delaney & Emily .H. James

The People The Blackfoot Nation consists of four distinct nations who all share historical and cultural backgrounds, but have separate leaders. The Siksika, Akainawa, Pikanii and Blackfeet nation. The Siksika, Akainawa and Pikanii are located in Alberta, Canada, and the Blackfeet Nation in Montana.

Location This map shows that the Blackfoot tribes were all located near each other. But they are spread through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and down through the states.

History The Blackfoot people lived long before first pyramids were built. The were fierce warriors, the strongest and most aggressive military power on the Northwestern plains. They were also nomadic (moved around a lot) buffalo hunters

European arrival In the beginning European arrival was good. The Europeans gave them horses, and everyone got along But soon small pox ravages population in mid 1800’s And soon Europeans had wiped out buffalo herds. 100’s of Blackfoot Indians starved to death. The Blackfoot soon became dependent on government rations.

Clothing The Blackfoot people used hides to make their clothing, deerskin for women’s dresses and leggings and moose skin for moccasins They decorated their clothing with materials such as porcupine quills, shells, bones and paint made from natural materials. When the Europeans arrived they would trade furs for beads to further decorate their clothing. This is called a Scaplock suit, it was owned by a very wealthy warrior in 1840. The symbols on the suit make a blessing to the sun, the weasel and the bear.

Blackfoot Housing The Blackfoot moved often so it was best for them to have homes that they could take down and set back up easily, therefore they lived in structures called tipi’s or wigwams. The women were responsible for setting up the wigwams which took about 20 minutes. They were made out of deer skin, buffalo, antelope or moose. Each wigwam had 4 long pine poles joined together at the top with animal leather. More poles were added and then covered with animal skin. Each wigwam had flaps that were used as doors. The flaps has 2 large poles so that they could open and close easily.

Tipi Designs Blackfoot were known for their beautiful tipi/wigwam designs. They painted them to honor the animal spirits and spirits of nature. They believed that the spirit they used would help protect their family. They said that the designs came to them through visions of dreams from grandfather and grandmother spirit.

Religion Blackfoot religion is about one’s relations with supernatural powers which is created through visions and involving ceremonies, songs and fetishes, ranging from small charms to complex bundles. A ‘fetish’ is a bundle of trinkets, usually received in a dream or vision. Also in a dream the individual is given instructions as to how and when to use each object in the bundle. The bundles come from a spirit which may be sun, thunder bird, moon, morning star, eagle, buffalo, beaver, or a large variety of other animals, birds and even objects. The Sun Dance is a well known Blackfoot ritual.

Language The Blackfoot people had an Algonquian language spoken by 8,000 in Southern Alberta and Northern Montana They have 2 main dialects: Pikanii, and Siksika Blackfoot. Young people are still learning Blackfoot but the language is currently undergoing a linguistic shift. Old Blackfoot is being spoken by older generations and new Blackfoot is being spoken by younger ones.

Blackfoot Language Blackfoot Translation English Word Moon Sun Water Here is a look at some English words translated to Blackfoot Blackfoot Translation Ko’kom ki’somm Ki’s mm Aohk Yoohto Inihki Omitaa N naa Aak English Word Moon Sun Water Hear Sing Dog Man Woman

Sources http://www.native-languages.org/blackfoot.htm www.utexas.edu/courses/wilson/ant304/projects98/krochenskip/krochenskip.html www.accessgeneralogy.com/native/tribes/siouan/blackfoothist.htm www.blackfoot.org/ www.civilization.ca/aborig/mocasin/mocbf1e.html www.tipis-tepees-teepees.com/images/Blackfoot_tipis.jpg www.blackfeetculturecamp.com/images/jonnycrow_small.jpg www.great_wisdomcenter.org/images/Tipi/jpg www.historyforkids.org/learn/northamerica/after1500/history/picture www.snowwowl.com/images/blackfoot/images016.gif http://www.glenbow.org/images/archpics/crowfoot.jpg http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/berkeley/steward/stewardk.htm singerseeker.zaadz.com/photos/view/80970 http://www.ammsa.com/buffalospirit/June-2000-images/transfer.jpg