Lifeways

The Blackfeet migrated to their homeland from the east, after having separated from other ALGONQUIANS. They became adapted to the nomadic life on the open grasslands, with buffalo meat as their “real food,” as they called it. They hunted other game, including deer, elk, and mountain sheep, but ate little fowl or fish. They also gathered wild plants, such as berries and chokecherries. They moved their camps of hide-covered tipis to new hunting

Blackfeet couple with horse and travois

Grounds when necessary, but during the cold northern winters, the various bands generally stayed in one place. The Blackfeet grew only one crop, tobacco. After the Blackfeet had obtained horses in the mid-1700s, their way of life came to resemble that of other PLAINS INDIANS.

The Blackfeet are known for their beautiful craftwork— tipis, riding equipment, clothes, tools, and weapons. They had unique headdresses, the feathers of which stood straight up. They practiced the Sun Dance, as did other Plains tribes, but women participated in the Blackfeet version. The women also had a powerful society known as Motokik. It was thought that their blessing of a child would give that child lifelong good fortune. The Vision Quest, another Plains Indian custom, was critical for the Blackfeet in the passage from childhood to adulthood. Blackfeet men were organized into warrior societies based on age, called the Ikunuhkats, or “All Comrades.”