Anthropology Blackfeet Nation Indians

THE BLACKFEET NATION INDIANS

This is a five page paper dealing with the Blackfeet Nation Indians. It will explore the tribe's history and early lifestyles. It will also cover the health and education of the tribe now. Problems facing the tribe and methods used in preserving their culture will also be addressed. There are seven references used. Introduction The Blackfeet Indians are a Native American tribe that live in Northern Montana. They have a history rich in traditions and rituals. There is some controversy on how they became known as Blackfeet, but many believe it is because of the black moccasins they wore. It's not sure how these moccasins became black, but two suggestions are the Indians painted them or they were darkened by prairie fire (www.blackfeetnation.com). The Beginnings The original home of the Blackfeet is believed to have been in the eastern woodlands "north of the Great Lakes (www.blackfeetnation.com)." Over three hundred years ago they began their move to the west, first along the Saskatchewan River and then into the northern plains. The Blackfeet spoke in the Algonquian tongue which was from their native eastern region. The Blackfeet went from a hunting and gathering tribe to nomads who hunted buffalo. They used all parts of the buffalo-the flesh for food, the hide for clothes and housing, and the horns and bones for utensils and tools. The Blackfeet also used pottery and bowls made out of wood.

War and Migration In the early 1500's, there were tribes in the east that were more dominate because they had a greater supply of weapons gained from trading with the French. The fighting caused by competition for the fur trade forced the Blackfeet Indians to move west. During the migration, three independent tribes were formed- the Peigan, the Bloods and the North Blackfeet. As the trading with the white man increased, the Blackfeet Indians found guns and horses were beneficial in their hunting and wars. The Blackfeet became skilled horsemen who soon discovered they were a formible opponent against their old enemies. By the early 1800's, they found themselves at war with most of the tribes in their region (www.blackfeetnation.com). In the late 1700's and early 1800's two separate Smallpox epidemics wiped out over two-thirds of the Blackfeet Nation. In the late 1800's the Buffalo herds disappeared from the Northern plains, causing wide-spread starvation and leading to the Indians dependence on the government. Characteristics of their Art Though artwork was an important part of Indians life, they didn't have the word art in their language. They did artwork for philosophical reasons, while the white man thought art needed to have a separate place and use. An example of their ethnographic use of art is using the Sunburst design for a war bonnet (Young Man). Current Economic Issues and Location Today, the 1.5 million acre Blackfeet Nation Indian Reservation is located in Northern Montana below Glacier National Park. The over 8,500 Indians who live on the reservation constantly face economic worries. About 50% of the Indians live in poverty, while their unemployment rate is

69%. They hope that by sanctioning the USA's only offshore bank, Glacier International Depository, they will be able to convince foreign depositors to get involved in projects that will create new jobs for the Indians (Ritter). The Indians are dependent on the federal government and they look at this as a way to benefit the tribe where the government falls short. The Blackfeet are in desperate need of new housing and schools and foreign investors understand this. Education, Health and other Problems

Unemployment isn't the only problem the Blackfeet face. Almost half of the children won't graduate from High School, although since 1979 it has been required that all Montana public teachers have a background in Native American Studies if they teach on or near reservations (www.blackfeetnation.com). The number of single-parent households is alarming because it's twice the national average. The Indians are six times more likely to die from alcoholism than the average American (Ritter). Obesity is another healthcare concern. Over one-third of all Indians are overweight. This can be attributed to a change in eating habits in the last 30 years. Native Americans may also have a genetic predisposition to diabetes. Indians are more likely to have diabetes than any other racial group in the world (Broussard). Language and Preservation of Culture Darrell Kipp returned to the Reservation 20 years ago to reconnect with his culture and was surprised to learned that there were few fluent speakers of Piegan, the Blackfeet language. Those that did speak the language were more than 60 years old (Nijhuis). This prompted Kipp and a few fellow Indians to found the Piegan Institute. This organization is nonprofit and works to restore and preserve Native American languages. The institute opened the Nizipuhwahsin, or

Real Speak, Center in 1995 to immerse students in the Blackfeet language. These students are the "first young fluent speakers of the Blackfeet language in a generation (Nijhuis)." The Center not only is preserving the language, it is teaching children their culture and helping them clarify their indenties (Nijhuis) When Indian children attended school off the Reservations, they were told to speak only in English and after time they became ashamed of their native language. The parents and grandparents stopped speaking the language because they were afraid their children would be punished for using it. This almost wiped out a 10,000 year-old view of the world (Nijhuis). Sovereignty and Government More than 500 tribes are sovereign under the Constitution, including the Blackfeet Indians. Because of this, state regulations concerning banking don't apply, though federal laws about unlawful transactions are enforced (Ritter). The Tribal Government of the Blackfeet Indians is the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council. A democratic election is held every two years to choose nine councilmen who manage and supervise tribal property and business affairs (www.blackfeetnation.com). Fighting the Government