Raiders of Mountains and Plains
Blackfoot Encounters with Bozeman, Lewis, and Clark
The Blackfoot Indians practiced the Sun Dance and had Vision Quests. Their enemies were the Crows, Sioux Shoshones, Flatheads, and the Kootenais, as well as the whites.
Society and Customs
Like other Plains tribes, the Blackfeet practiced the Sun Dance, however, in the Blackfoot version the women took part. The women of the Blackfeet had their own powerful society, as well, known as Motokik. Also like other Plains tribes, the Blackfeet practiced the Vision Quest, which was critical in the passage from childhood to adulthood which was an important steps in becoming a feared warrior.
Enemies of the Blackfoot
The Crow and Sioux of the Plains numbered amongst the enemies of the Blackfoot. In the mountain country to their west their enemies included the Shoshones, Flatheads, and the Kootenais. The Blackfeet also considered the whites as their enemies and often attack explorers, traders, miners, as well as settlers traveling along the Oregon and Bozeman trails.
Noted historically is the incident of Blackfeet raiding the horses of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, resulting in one brave being killed. In 1867, the Blackfeet also killed John Bozeman, after which the Bozeman Trail was named. Because of these and numerous attacks, the Blackfeet were more feared by the Mountain Men of the fur-trading era then any other Native American Tribe.
Decline of the Blackfeet
The might reign of the Blackfeet began to crumble with the smallpox epidemics in 1836, 1845, 1857, and 1869-70. These devastating incidents, along with the killing-off of the vast herds of buffalo by mostly hide-hunters, did more to bring about the decline of the Blackfeet than wars with either, or collectively, the Canadian or United States, armies.
Treaties and Reservations
In 1855, the Blackfeet signed a Treaty with the United States, as well as a treaty with Canada in 1877. They were forced to give up much of their land in the 1870s and settle on reservations on both sides of the United States-Canadian border in the 1880s. However, unlike numerous Native American tribes who were forced onto reservations, the Blackfeet managed to retain land that was a part of their "ancestral homeland."
Previous: Blackfoot Confederacy: Their Origin, Societies, and Decline.
Recommended Reading:
Indians and the Gold Rush: Forts Kearny and Leavenworth.
Indians of Pennsylvania: Land of the Delaware Tribe.
Source:
Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Facts on File Publications, New York, NY and Oxford, England, 1988.
