Editing Blackfoot Confederacy (section)

=== Importance and uses of bison ===
[[File:BuffaloHunters.jpg|thumb|Bison hunters with wolf skin disguises.]]
[[File:Alfred Jacob Miller - Hunting Buffalo - Walters 371940190.jpg|thumb|Depiction of Bison being driven over a "buffalo jump".]]
The Niitsitapi main source of food on the plains was the [[American bison]] (buffalo), the largest mammal in North America, standing about {{convert|6+1/2|ft|m}} tall and weighing up to {{convert|2000|lbs}}.<ref name="David Murdoch 1937">David Murdoch, "North American Indian", eds. Marion Dent and others, Vol. ''Eyewitness Books''(Dorling Kindersley Limited, London: Alfred A.Knopf, Inc., 1937), 28–29.</ref> Before the introduction of horses, the Niitsitapi needed other ways to get in range. The [[buffalo jump]] was one of the most common ways. The hunters would round up the buffalo into V-shaped pens, and drive them over a cliff (they hunted [[pronghorn]] antelopes in the same way). Afterwards the hunters would go to the bottom and take as much meat as they could carry back to camp. They also used camouflage for hunting.<ref name="David Murdoch 1937" /> The hunters would take buffalo skins from previous hunting trips and drape them over their bodies to blend in and mask their scent. By subtle moves, the hunters could get close to the herd. When close enough, the hunters would attack with arrows or spears to kill wounded animals.

The people used virtually all parts of the body and skin. The women prepared the meat for food: by boiling, roasting or drying for [[jerky]]. This processed it to last a long time without spoiling, and they depended on bison meat to get through the winters.<ref>Gibson, 14</ref> The winters were long, harsh, and cold due to the lack of trees in the Plains, so people stockpiled meat in summer.<ref>Taylor, 2</ref> As a ritual, hunters often ate the bison heart minutes after the kill. The women tanned and prepared the skins to cover the tepees. These were made of log poles, with the skins draped over it. The tepee remained warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and was a great shield against the wind.<ref>{{cite journal|last=West|first=Helen B.|date=Autumn 1960|title=Blackfoot Country|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/i405881|access-date=2020-07-30|journal=Montana: The Magazine of Western History|pages=34–44|jstor=4516437|volume=10|issue=4}}</ref>

The women also made clothing from the skins, such as robes and moccasins, and made soap from the fat. Both men and women made utensils, sewing needles and tools from the bones, using tendon for fastening and binding. The stomach and bladder were cleaned and prepared for use for storing liquids. Dried bison dung was fuel for the fires. The Niitsitapi considered the animal sacred and integral to their lives.<ref>Gibson, 15</ref>