Editing Blackfoot Confederacy (section)

==Culture==

=== Electing a leader ===
Family was highly valued by the Blackfoot Indians. For traveling, they also split into bands of 20–30 people, but would come together for times of celebration.<ref>Taylor, 11</ref> They valued leadership skills and chose the [[Tribal chief|chief]]s who would run their settlements wisely. During times of peace, the people would elect a peace chief, meaning someone who could lead the people and improve relations with other tribes. The title of war chief could not be gained through election and needed to be earned by successfully performing various acts of bravery including touching a living enemy.<ref name="gibson17">Gibson, 17</ref> Blackfoot bands often had minor chiefs in addition to an appointed head chief.

=== Societies ===
[[File:Scalp dance, Blackfoot Indians (HS85-10-18743).jpg|thumb|Scalp dance, Blackfoot Indians, 1907]]

Within the Blackfoot nation, there were different societies to which people belonged, each of which had functions for the tribe. Young people were invited into societies after proving themselves by recognized passages and rituals. For instance, young men had to perform a vision quest, begun by a spiritual cleansing in a [[sweat lodge]].<ref>Gibson, 19</ref> They went out from the camp alone for four days of fasting and praying. Their main goal was to see a vision that would explain their future. After having the vision, a youth returned to the village ready to join society.

In a warrior society, the men had to be prepared for battle. Again, the warriors would prepare by spiritual cleansing, then paint themselves symbolically; they often painted their horses for war as well. Leaders of the warrior society carried spears or lances called a ''coup'' stick, which was decorated with feathers, skin, and other tokens. They won prestige by "[[counting coup]]", tapping the enemy with the stick and getting away.

[[File:Blood squaws in war dress (HS85-10-18744).jpg|thumb|Women of the Blood Nation in battle dress, 1907]]
Members of the religious society protected sacred Blackfoot items and conducted religious ceremonies. They blessed the warriors before battle. Their major ceremony was the Sun Dance, or Medicine Lodge Ceremony. By engaging in the Sun Dance, their prayers would be carried up to the Creator, who would bless them with well-being and abundance of buffalo.

Women's societies also had important responsibilities for the communal tribe. They designed refined quillwork on clothing and ceremonial shields, helped prepare for battle, prepared skins and cloth to make clothing, cared for the children and taught them tribal ways, skinned and tanned the leathers used for clothing and other purposes, prepared fresh and dried foods, and performed ceremonies to help hunters in their journeys.<ref>Gibson, 19–21</ref>

===Ethnobotany===
[[File:Joseph Henry Sharp - Making Sweet Grass Medicine, Blackfoot Ceremony - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|Blackfoot making [[Hierochloe odorata|sweet grass]] medicine for a ceremony.]]
[[File:Big Mouth Spring.jpg|thumb|Blackfoot man with braided sweet grass ropes]]
[[Artemisia tridentata|Sage]] and [[Hierochloe odorata|sweet grass]] are both used by Blackfoot and other Plains tribes for ceremonial purposes and are considered sacred plants. Sage and sweet grass are burned with the user inhaling and covering themselves in the smoke in a process known widely as smudging. Sage is said to rid the body of negative emotions such as anger. Sweet grass is said to draw in positive energy. Both are used for purification purposes. The pleasant and natural odor of the burning grass is said to attract spirits. Sweet grass is prepared for ceremony by braiding the stems together then drying them before burning.

Sweet grass is also often present and burned in pipe-smoking mixtures alongside [[Arctostaphylos uva-ursi|bearberry]] and red willow plants. The smoke from the pipe is said to carry the users prayers up to the creator with the rising smoke. Large medicine bags often decorated with ornate beaded designs were used by medicine men to carry sage, sweet grass, and other important plants.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ceremonies|url=http://www.blackfootcrossing.ca/ceremonies.html|work=Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park|access-date=26 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506145033/http://www.blackfootcrossing.ca/ceremonies.html|archive-date=6 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Blackfoot also used sweet grass smoke, or sachets of sweet grass in their clothing, as an effective insect repellent.<ref>[http://acsh.org/news/2016/11/01/sweetgrass-deet-traditional-native-american-herbal-remedy-acts-mosquito-repellent "Sweetgrass: Like DEET, Traditional Native American Herbal Remedy Acts As Mosquito Repellent," American Council onf Science and Health]</ref>

They apply a poultice of chewed roots [[Asclepias viridiflora]] to swellings, to "diarrhea rash", to rashes, to the sore gums of nursing infants{{sfn | Hellson | 1974 | p= 75 }} and to sore eyes.{{sfn | Hellson | 1974 | p= 80 }} They also chew the root of [[Asclepias viridiflora]] for sore throats,{{sfn | Hellson | 1974 | p= 71 }} and use the plant to spice soups, and use the fresh roots for food.{{sfn | Hellson | 1974 | p= 101 }} They make use of [[Viola adunca]], applying an infusion of the roots and leaves to sore and swollen joints,{{sfn | Hellson | 1974 | p= 79 }} giving an infusion of the leaves and roots to asthmatic children,{{sfn | Hellson | 1974 | p= 74 }} and using the plant to dye their arrows blue.{{sfn | Hellson | 1974 | p= 123 }} They put [[Carex]] in [[moccasins]] to protect the feet during winter horse stealing expeditions.<ref>Johnston, Alex, 1987, Plants and the Blackfoot, Lethbridge, Alberta. Lethbridge Historical Society, page 22</ref>

=== Marriage ===
In the Blackfoot culture, men were responsible for choosing their marriage partners, but women had the choice to accept them or not. The male had to show the woman's father his skills as a hunter or warrior. If the father was impressed and approved of the marriage, the man and woman would exchange gifts of horses and clothing and were considered married. The married couple would reside in their own tipi or with the husband's family. Although the man was permitted more than one wife, typically he only chose one. In cases of more than one wife, quite often the male would choose a sister of the wife, believing that sisters would not argue as much as total strangers.<ref>Taylor, 14–15</ref>

=== Responsibilities and clothing ===
[[File:Horned bonnet of weasel skins, worn by Grass Dance leader, Blackfoot, Alberta, c. 1900, with ceremonial shirt, Blackfoot, c. 1880 - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC00325.JPG|thumb|Horned bonnet with [[stoat|ermine]] skin.]]
In a typical Blackfoot family, the father would go out and hunt and bring back supplies that the family might need. The mother would stay close to home and watch over the children while the father was out. The children were taught basic survival skills and culture as they grew up. It was generally said that both boys and girls learned to ride horses early. Boys would usually play with toy bows and arrows until they were old enough to learn how to hunt.<ref name="gibson17"/>

They would also play a popular game called shinny, which later became known as ice hockey. They used a long curved wooden stick to knock a ball, made of baked clay covered with buckskin, over a goal line. Girls were given a doll to play with, which also doubled as a learning tool because it was fashioned with typical tribal clothing and designs and also taught the young women how to care for a child.<ref>Gordon C. Baldwin, Games of the American Indian (Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the New York, United States of America: George J. McLeod Limited, 1969), 115.</ref> As they grew older, more responsibilities were placed upon their shoulders. The girls were then taught to cook, prepare hides for leather, and gather wild plants and berries. The boys were held accountable for going out with their father to prepare food by means of hunting.<ref name="taylor14">Taylor, 14</ref>{{multiple image
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}}Typically clothing was made primarily of softened and tanned antelope and deer hides. The women would make and decorate the clothes for everyone in the tribe. Men wore moccasins, long leggings that went up to their hips, a loincloth, and a belt. Occasionally they would wear shirts but generally they would wrap buffalo robes around their shoulders. The distinguished men of bravery would wear a necklace made of grizzly bear claws.<ref name="taylor14" />

Boys dressed much like the older males, wearing leggings, loincloths, moccasins, and occasionally an undecorated shirt. They kept warm by wearing a buffalo robe over their shoulders or over their heads if it became cold. Women and girls wore dresses made from two or three deerskins. The women wore decorative earrings and bracelets made from sea shells, obtained through trade with distant tribes, or different types of metal. They would sometimes wear beads in their hair or paint the part in their hair red, which signified that they were old enough to bear children.<ref name="taylor14" />

===Headdresses===
[[File:Head Carry-Piegan Blackfoot Indian- Edward S. Curtis.jpg|thumb|Head Carry, a Piegan man wearing a split horn headdress. Photographed by [[Edward S. Curtis]], 1900.]]
[[File:Headdress Case,Blackfoot (Native American), late 19th century, 50.67.30.jpg|thumbnail|''Headdress Case,'' Blackfoot (Native American), late 19th century, [[Brooklyn Museum]]]]
Similar to other Indigenous Peoples of the Great Plains, the Blackfoot developed a variety of different headdresses that incorporated elements of creatures important to them; these served different purposes and symbolized different associations. The typical [[war bonnet]] was made from eagle feathers, because the bird was considered powerful. It was worn by prestigious warriors and chiefs (including war-chiefs) of the Blackfoot. The straight-up headdress is a uniquely Blackfoot headdress that, like the war bonnet, is made with eagle feathers. The feathers on the straight-up headdress point directly straight upwards from the rim (hence the name). Often a red plume is attached to the front of the headdress; it also points straight upward.

The split-horn headdress was very popular among Northern Plains Indians, particularly those nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Many warrior societies, including the Horn Society of the Blackfoot, wore the split-horn headdress. The split-horn headdress was made from a single bison horn, split in two and reshaped as slimmer versions of a full-sized bison horn, and polished. The horns were attached to a beaded, rimmed felt hat. Furs from weasels (taken when carrying heavy winter coats) were attached to the top of the headdress, and dangled from the sides. The side furs were often finished with bead work where attached to the headdress. A similar headdress, called the antelope horn headdress, was made in a similar fashion using the horn or horns from a [[pronghorn]] antelope.

Blackfoot men, particularly warriors, sometimes wore a [[Roach (headdress)|roach]] made from [[porcupine]] hair. The hairs of the porcupine are most often dyed red. Eagle and other bird feathers were occasionally attached to the roach.

Buffalo scalps, often with horns still attached and often with a beaded rim, were also worn. Fur "turbans" made from soft animal fur (most often otter) were also popular. Buffalo scalps and fur turbans were worn in the winter to protect the head from the cold.

The Blackfoot have continued to wear traditional headdresses at special ceremonies. They are worn mostly by elected chiefs, members of various traditional societies (including the Horn, Crazy Dog and Motokik societies), powwow dancers and spiritual leaders.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sammi-Headresses|url=http://www.blackfootcrossing.ca/contactus.html|work=Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park|access-date=12 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507013416/http://www.blackfootcrossing.ca/contactus.html|archive-date=7 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Sun and the Moon ===
[[File:MedicineMan.Catlin.jpg|thumb|A Siksika Blackfeet Medicine Man, painted by [[George Catlin]].]]
One of the most famous traditions held by the Blackfoot is their story of sun and the moon. It starts with a family of a man, wife, and two sons, who live off berries and other food they can gather, as they have no bows and arrows, or other tools (albeit a stone axe). One night, the man had a dream: he was told by the dream to get a large spider web and put it on the trail where the animals roamed, and they would get caught up and could be easily killed with the stone axe he had. The man had done so and saw that it was true. One day, he came home from bringing in some fresh meat from the trail and discovered his wife to be applying perfume on herself. He thought that she must have another lover since she never did this before. He then told his wife that he was going to move a web and asked if she could bring in the meat and wood he had left outside from a previous hunt. She had reluctantly gone out and passed over a hill. The wife looked back three times and saw her husband in the same place she had left him, so she continued on to retrieve the meat. The father then asked his children if they went with their mother to find wood, but they never had. However they knew the location in which she retrieved it from.

The man set out and found the timber along with a den of rattlesnakes, one of which was his wife's lover. He set the timber on fire and killed the snakes. He knew by doing this that his wife would become enraged, so the man returned home. He told the children to flee and gave them a stick, stone, and moss to use if their mother chased after them. He remained at the house and put a web over his front door. The wife tried to get in but became stuck and had her leg cut off. She then put her head through and he cut that off also. While the body followed the husband to the creek, the head followed the children. The oldest boy saw the head behind them and threw the stick. The stick turned into a great forest. The head made it through, so the younger brother instructed the elder to throw the stone. He did so, and where the stone landed a huge mountain popped up. It spanned from big water (ocean) to big water and the head was forced to go through it, not around. The head met a group of rams and said to them she would marry their chief if they butted their way through the mountain. The chief agreed and they butted until their horns were worn down, but this still was not through. She then asked the ants if they could burrow through the mountain with the same stipulations, it was agreed and they get her the rest of the way through. The children were far ahead, but eventually saw the head rolling behind them. The boys wet the moss and wrung it out behind themselves. They were then in a different land surrounded by an expanse of water (the 'new land' is commonly interpreted as [[Russia]], with the expanse of water being the [[Bering Strait]]). The head rolled into the water and drowned. The children decided to build a raft and head back. Once they returned to their land, however, they discovered that it was now occupied by the [[Crow people]] and the [[Snake Indians|Snake people]], so they decided to split up.

One brother was simple and went north to discover what he could and make people. The other was smart and went south to make white people. He taught them how to forge and make advanced weapons, which is how the Blackfoot people believe the whites became so technologically advanced. The simple brother created the Blackfoot nation and was unable to teach them anything. He became known as Left Hand, and later by the Blackfoot as Old Man (or Napiw, the Creator). The woman still chases the man: she is the moon and he is the sun, and if she ever catches him, it will always be night.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bird Grinnell|first=George|title=A Blackfoot Sun and Moon Myth|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/i223360|access-date=2020-07-30|journal=The Journal of American Folklore |year=1893|volume=6|issue=20|pages=44–47|publisher=University of Illinois Press|doi=10.2307/534278 |jstor=534278}}</ref>

=== Blackfoot creation story ===
{{see also|Blackfoot religion}}
{{see also|Blackfoot mythology}}
The [[creation myth]] is part of the oral history of the Blackfoot nation. It was said that in the beginning, Napio floated on a log with four animals. The animals were: Mameo (fish), Matcekups (frog), Maniskeo (lizard), and Sopeo (turtle). Napio sent all of them into the deep water, one after another. The first three had gone down and returned with nothing. The turtle went down and retrieved mud from the bottom and gave it to Napio.

He took the mud and rolled it in his hand and created the earth. He let it roll out of his hand and over time, it has grown to what it is today. After he created the earth, he created women first, followed by men. He had them living separately from one another. The men were shy and afraid, but Napio said to them to not fear and take one as their wife. They had done as he asked, and Napio continued to create the buffalo and bows and arrows for the people so that they could hunt them.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Maclean|first=John|title=Blackfoot Mythology|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/i223360|access-date=2020-07-30|journal=The Journal of American Folklore |year=1893|volume=6|issue=22|pages=165–172|publisher=University of Illinois Press|doi=10.2307/533004|jstor=533004}}</ref>