Blackfoot, siksika

Blackfoot name: Siksika, means black foot and refers to the dark colored moccasins the people wore.
Blackfoot tribes:  Northern Peigan or Piikáni, South Peigan or Blackfeet,  Kainai or Bloods , Siksika or Blackfoot.
Blackfoot religion: dominated by the Sun or the Creator (Nah-too-si; Superpowered or Holiness) is believed to have created the earth and everything in the universe. Nah-too-si is sometimes personified by the mystical Napi, or Old Man. Communication occurs with the supernatural world through visions of guardian spirits.
Blackfoot music: Ceremonies include the Sun Dance, Buffalo dance and Grass dance.  Singing predominates and was accompanied only by percussion. (Nettl, 1989) The songs contact the spirit powers.
Blackfoot history: At Blackfeet nation
Blackfoot traditional home: tipi
Blackfoot way of life: At Blackfeet nation
Blackfoot History Timeline

The Blackfeet Family at Home
SOURCE: Laut, Agnes C. "The Indian's Idea of Fine Art." The Outing Magazine. 1905

SOURCE: Humfreville, J. Lee. Twenty Years Among Our Savage Indians.  Hartford Publishing Company, 1897.

The World: Its Cities and People. London: Cassell & Company, Limited, ca 1880

Mounted Blackfeet Traveling Through the Snow



Blackfoot Indians: An Indian Medicine Man

 SOURCE: Donaldson, Thomas. "The George Catlin Indian Gallery in the U.S. National Museum." The Smithsonian Report - Part II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1886.

More interesting photos and information can be found at the Blackfoot Digital Library, " a venue for sharing our families and our communities stories, past and present. Most certainly it is intended to be an educational resource for all those now living in kitawahsinnoon."