The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1919-05-06
A Powerful Tribe

The Blackfeet Indians are gener-
ally considered by the people to have
been associated with the Blackfoot
country in Idaho, but this is not the
case. The Blackfeet Indians lived
in Montana, Wyoming and Canada,
and lived and travelled some in Idaho
and other states. For a long time
they were the dominant tribe among
the many tribes Of the northwest. AS
warriors they were very successful
and were rather cruel and over-bear-
ing in their relations with others.
History a Little Uncertain
The history and legendry of this
Indian tribe is probably filled with
more mistakes than the history of
most other people and considerable
allowance has to be made for mis-
understandings and different YER
sions.
How They We're Named
One version of how the Blackfeet
Indians we're named is that they
were so called by the very early set
tiers and trappers. 1t is said that
their tribal name among other
Indians was Sitsikas, but that the
first white men coming among them
called them Blackfeet because their
feet were blackened by smoke and
ashes. They had habit and liking
for terrorizing other tribes by fight
ing them and setting fire to the
vegetation of their country. The
fire would spread over the great
expanse of country and the Black
feet travelling over these wastes
would have their feet and shins all
blackened from the ashes. Their
moccasins and leggins, or what ever
attire was exposed to the ashes were
black all the time. The story has it
that they answered to the name of
Blackfeet for a long period and came
to be known by that name instead of
their original tribal name.
Delight in Destroying
The first reference we have of this
name is by Donald Mckenzie, who
was on the head waters of the Black
foot river in 1919, with a party of
trappers and traders. They had then
just burned out the country around
Henry's lake and everybody that
travelled thru there had to travel
thru the black ashes.
The Blackfeet Indians are said to
have developed the strength of their !
tribe by very rigid training and
rules Of living that maintained a
high morality. They seemed to have
been like the Puritans and carried |
their rigidness to an excess that |
amounted to cruelty and barbarism.
Courtship Ceremonies
The young people were not al
lowed any privileges of courtship.
They saw each other only by acct
dent or / n the presence of their
parents or a chaperon. When a
maiden went out anywhere she was
always accompanied by her mother
or some matron who kept strict
watch of her and did not permit her
to talk or visit with any one, except
in her presence; she must be seen
and not heard. If young fellow
wanted to visit girl, there was no
provision for that. The young fell
lows went in crowds or gangs, but
they could not call upon their lady
friends; however, brave could in
vite his friend to his tepee and thent
the guest might exhange glancas
with the maiden of the house,
hold, but they were not ex-
pected to be chatty. II he liked her
looks and wanted her for wife the
method of proposing was to bring |
some torses with long ropes att1ched !;
and tie them to post at the tepee,
t1en he walked away a few hundred |
feet and waited. The family would !;