BY: ANDREW BARKHUFF

1. BLACKFEET INDIANS BY: ANDREW BARKHUFF

2. BLACKFEET ENVIRONMENT • There is a very diverse terrain, with prairies to mountains. • Important plants: camas bulbs, bitter root, prairie turnips, roots, berries, and choke cherries • There were trees both pine and leaved trees • It has four seasons with very extreme temperatures • There were many animals: buffalo, elk, deer antelope, mountain sheep, grizzly bears, wolf, and fish • Natural resources: trees, grass, buffalo chips and much more Blackfoot reservation today.

3. BLACKFEET RELIGION • Napi is an old man who the Blackfeet thought created everything. • The Blackfeet believed in supernatural powers that could be acquired through the natural environment. • The Blackfeet performed many rituals. • The sun dance and the buffalo dance are two of them. The Blackfeet believed strongly in spirits. These are some of the Blackfeet myths: The Bad Weapons The Dog and The Stick The Bad Wife The Elk The Bear The Fast Runner The Beaver Medicine The Fox The Buffalo Rock The Ghosts’ Buffalo

4. LANGUAGE Here are some words: • The Blackfeet spoke Algonquian. • The Blackfeet did not have a written language • Their language was a musical language with complicated verbs with many parts • One easy word is “Oki” which means hello aakiiwa

5. GOVERNMENT • It was a confederacy • They were led by a council of chiefs • Each hunting tribe had a leader • Decisions were made by the council • This government is called consensus

6. FOOD • The Blackfeets main food source is buffalo • They also ate mountain sheep, antelope, deer, elk, and moose • They also ate pemmican • They also ate many different kinds of berries and roots, like choke cherries or buffalo berries • Pemmican

7. SHELTER • The Blackfeet lived in teepees. • The teepee was made of 19, • 18 foot poles with animal skins covering the poles. • There were paintings on the skins of the teepees. • There were willow backrest and buffalo robe beds for furnishing • The teepees were made for easy movement

8. TECHNOLOGY • The Blackfeet had many kinds of technology: bows and arrows, spoons, travois's, arrowheads, hide scrappers, par fleche, and pounders. • The most important piece of technology would be the bow and arrow or fire.

9. HISTORY • The Blackfeet came from the eastern woodlands. • They came with other Algonquian speaking people. • They are thought to be the first to inhabit the plains. From this To this

10. CLOTHING • The clothing was made of animal skins. • The females wore long dresses without sleeves while it was warm. • While it was cold they wore the dresses with attachable sleeves • The men wore breach cloths with leggings and moccasins • When it was cool they were the same thing with buffalo robes.

11. Entertainment • The Blackfeet had many instruments like drums, and whistle. • They had two different types of drums • They also had jingles and used them in many ceremonies. • They also sang • One game the kids played was a hoop game. • The kids also had dolls.

12. ART AND CRAFTS • Most of the Blackfoot are was made out of beads, porcupine quills, teeth, claws and berries. • They used: • Berries for paint • Claws and teeth for necklaces • Beads for decorating bags and clothing • Porcupine quills for decorating clothes

13. WAR/PEACE AND WEAPONS/COSTUMES • They wore clothes with bead work, quill embroidery, and painted designs. • The painted designs often told tribal stories. • Chiefs headdress was a long leather strap with many eagle feathers all the way down tipped with horse hair. • They used war clubs, tomahawks, and lances in battle. • The also had shields made of hide.

14. DOMESTICATION • The Blackfeet domesticated very little. • The did domesticate plants and animals though • They domesticated the dog and horse. • They domesticated one plant, the native plain tobacco.

15. Medicine/Hygiene • The Blackfeet used healing herbs but only on open wounds. • They would have the medicine man try to get the bad spirit out of you. • If you were sick they thought that you had a bad spirit in you.

16. Gender Roles • Women did all the gathering and cleaned the hides. • They were in charge of the homes. • They did the cooking and cleaning. • Built the house and carried the post where ever they went, the house also belonged to the women. • The men did the hunting and planning. • They went to war to defend their families. • Most Blackfeet chiefs and warriors were men. • Both genders took part in story telling and activities.

17. BIBLIOGRAPHY • http://www.indianmythology.org/blackfoot_mythology.htm • http://www.bigorrin.org/blackfoot_kids.htm • http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040209/localnews/380816-134659.jpg • http://www.gtccmt.org/webquests/mark/BlackfeetTools.html • http://www.saskschools.ca/~avonlea2/grass3/grade56/clothesjm.htm • http://www.bigorrin.org/blackfoot_kids.htm • http://www.phylliscooper.net/listings/8w_kensington_lake_seasons.jpg • http://www.gtccmt.org/webquests/mark/travois.jpg • http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/images/mlw_0001_0003_0_img0144.jpg • http://www.aaanativearts.com/images/articles/Mountain_Chief_Blackfoot2.jpg • http://nativesofcanada.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/pemmican.jpg • http://www.firstpeople.us/tipi/pt/blackfoot-tipis.jpg • http://www.ri.net/schools/Narragansett/NES/Classrooms/Batchelder/woodland.jpg • http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/images/movie/photogallery_large/20_b.jpg • http://www.bigorrin.org/black9.jpg • http://www.native-languages.org/bead1.jpg • http://www.geocities.com/jerry7.geo/warclub.gif • http://esask.uregina.ca/management/app/assets/img/enc2/selectedbig/51F2BF58-1560-95DA-4300E3357FE677A4.jpg • http://americanart.si.edu/images/1985/1985.66.158_1b.jpg • http://www.gaiti.com/Blackfoot%20and%20Friend.jpg • http://www.firstpeople.us/pictures/art/odd-sizes/ls/Return-Of-A-Blackfoot-War-Party-1100x873.jpg