Rubins NoreliaPeriod 1

SettlingThe Blackfeet Indians are original residents of the northern Plains, mainly in Montana, Idaho, and Alberta, Canada. Most Blackfoot people still live in this region today.

Source of Food

The Blackfoot people ate buffalo, deer, moose and mountain sheep. They boiled, roasted or dried the buffalo meat. They also ate a fish called salmon and the only fowl they ate was duck. Blackfoot ate plants like pumpkins, sunflowers, corn, squash and sweet seed. The women gathered the berries and other wild plants. Food was plentiful and easy to get. Some of the Blackfoot's special plants are cranberries, blueberries, saskatoon berries, and pinon nut. Wild rice was good with duck or in venison stews. The Blackfoot had no grains to make cereal or bread. They used pemmican as a staple in their diet in the same way that other tribes used cereal or bread. The women pounded some of the meat into small pieces and mixed it with fat and berries to make this nutritious food.

Members of the TribeThe men of the tribe were hunters, farmers, fishermen, warriors, and etc. The hunters usually hunted for animal as in buffalos to feed to the tribe. The farmers were both women and men. The fishermen were men and sometimes children. And warriors were men that defended the tribe from attackers and members from other tribes.

HomesThe blackfoot people lived in tipis. They made their tipis with 3-4 large wooden poles and 20-22 small wooden poles. To cover their tipis they made a blanket of buffalo skin and sewed it with sinew.

Work of Men & WomenWomen were in charge of the home. Besides cooking and cleaning, the women built the family house and dragged the posts with her whenever the tribe moved. Houses belong to the women. Men went to war to defend their families and they were hunters, chiefs and warriors.

ChildrenBlackfoot children do, what all children do They play with each other, go to school, and help around in the house. Many Blackfoot children like to help their fathers hunt and fish. Long time ago, the children had more chores to do and less playtime.

Interesting Facts• The Blackfeet live in what is present

day Montana.

• There are three tribes of Blackfeet: the Piegan, Siksika (Blackfeet), and Kainah (Blood).

• In the Blackfeet Indian’s Creation Story, Old Man (Napi) created the world.

• Blackfeet warriors called themselves “Lords of the Plains”

• The Blackfeet people were nomadic since they followed the buffalo, their main source of food.

• Tepees made of wooden poles and animal hides, were what the Blackfeet lived in. They were able to take down the tepees when they moved and put them up when they stopped again.