Blackfoot Tribe Research Paper

Savages, Injuns, and Redskins are all names that have destroyed the honorable opportunity to be called an Indian. The Algonquian people, people that belong to the North American Indian family, in the Blackfoot (Blackfeet) tribe lived in present day Minnesota, North Dakota, Michigan, and Canada. Even though in the early years they farmed, they are known for hunting buffalo mostly (Ditchfield 5). There are four closely related tribes that come together to form the whole Blackfoot tribe. There is the Northern Blackfoot (Siksika), The Bloods (Kainai), The Poorly dressed or Piegan (Pikuni), and the Blackfoot (8). The Blackfoot was a widespread tribe that dominated the Great Plains. The regions ranged (north to south) from Alberta, Canada to parts

Buffalo were the main food that the Blackfoot depended on, but they also had mountain sheep, deer, and elk. There were times that the Blackfoot people had so much meat that the women would make a type of jerky because it was full of protien and easy to carry for the men (Ditchfield 19). The Blackfoot people traveled around chasing after the buffalo, so they were known as nomadic. The Blackfoot people lived in tepees, or buffalo skin over long poles to form a shelter, because they were easy to put up and easy to take down when traveling (17). The Blackfoot tribe was so dependent on animals that when the Starvation Winter happened in 1883 many of the tribe members died. The Starvation Winter was the time when all the buffalo disappeared. The Blackfoot people did not eat fish or travel by water because of spiritual beliefs, so they depended strictly on land food (“Blackfoot”). Buffalo played a huge role in the Blackfoot way of

The Blackfoot people not only made clothing but made tools, weapons, and riding equipment also (25). Today the Blackfoot people are trying to keep the culture alive. Most of the 37, 992 Blackfeet are on a reservation in Alberta (Waltmann). The Northern Blackfoot, Bloods, and Piegans settled there and the Siksika settled in Montana (Ditchfield 37). The Siksika found oil in Montana and have profited off of it ever since (38). They drive the same cars as average Americans and they were the same clothes. The reservation is mainly a tourist attraction now (39) and the Blackfoot, however do not give up on preserving their history (40). The history and culture of the Blackfoot people has beaten the test of time making it an intriguing tribe. In the early years they were mighty and powerful, but as time went on the power they had established went away. The Blackfoot people chased buffalo many years depending in them to survive the terrain they lived in. In the spiritual world, the Blackfoot people were deep into their religion. The Blackfoot people were extremely good craftsman with making clothes, tools, weapons, and riding equipment. The Blackfoot people are still around today and are striving to keep the history of their nation alive. The Blackfoot people have the honor of being called Native Americans and not a disgraceful