At the time of discovery, these Indians resided east of the Rocky
Mountains in what is now Montana, and Alberta, Canada, and were grouped
into three tribes: Blackfoot, Blood, and Piegan. The Piegan were the
largest and dominant tribe, but all were in the habit of speaking of
themselves as Blackfoot. How this name originated is not known, though
there is a story that it was given them by other Indians because their
moccasins were always stained with the black loam of the rich prairies
of Alberta.
Closely affiliated with the Blackfoot were the Sarsi, a small
Athabascan-speaking tribe, and the Prairie Gros Ventre, closely
related to the Arapaho. Thus the Blackfoot group—confederacy of early
writers—was composed of at least five distinct tribal units. Their
nearest cultural contemporaries are the Plains-Cree, Assiniboin, Crow,
and Shoshoni.
The Blackfoot speak a language belonging to the great Algonkian family
of eastern North America. The presumption is, therefore, that they
migrated from the woodlands of the east to the western plains, but this
was very long ago.
The surviving remnants of the tribe now number less than 5,000, fully
half of whom live in the State of Montana, and less than half of these
are of pure descent.
For further information on the Blackfoot and other Plains tribes, the
reader is referred to:
North American Indians of the Plains (Handbook series, No. 1
American Museum of Natural History, 1912), by Clark Wissler,
and the following monographs by Dr. Wissler, published in the
_Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History_:
Mythology of the Blackfoot Indians. vol. II, part 1.
The Material Culture of the Blackfoot Indians. vol. V, part 1.
The Social Life and Ceremonial Bundles of the Blackfoot Indians.
vol. VII.
Societies and Dance Associations of the Blackfoot Indians. vol. XI,
part 4.
Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians. vol. XVI, part 3.
Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. vol. I, part 2.
Societies and Ceremonial Associations in the Oglala Division of the
Teton-Dakota. vol. XI, part 1.
Riding Gear of the North American Indians. vol. XVII, part 1.
Costumes of the Plains Indians. vol. XVII, part 2.
Structural Basis to the Decoration of Costumes among the Plains
Indians. vol. XVII, part 3.
Decorative Art of the Sioux Indians (Bulletin, American Museum,
vol. XVIII, part 3.).