The Big Stripe Tipi of Running Rabbit. Also called the Single Circle Tipi, after the name of the man who founded it. Sometimes also called the Beaver Tipi, because Single Circle its founder was the owner of a Beaver Bundle which had its origin from the beavers. In a dream the beaver and otter both gave him the tipi. Around its center was a broad red band on which were six black otters, three on each side on their runway, all running from back to front. The males on the south and females on the north side. Their teeth showed white and their mouths red. The life-line red and green, and kidneys green also. This line of otters were running to enter their den under the river bank, which is represented by the colored area over the door and extends almost to the smoke-hole. At the back and high up, was a green moon with yellow border, and a horse tail tied to its center. Inside, just over the door, was a battle made of buffalo calf-hoofs and the tail hanging down - to announce anyone arriving or leaving the tipi, as their head would be sure to touch the tail and rattle the hoofs. A ceremony and feast were always given in this tipi at the end of winter or early spring, when the ice was breaking up in the rivers - the time beavers are accustomed to leave their winter dens.

The Bald Eagle Tipi of Big Moon. It had a red top with a yellow band beneath for sunrise. A yellow disc with buffalo tail attached, represented the sun. At the bottom of the tipi were colored bands for a rainbow - the sign of fair weather.

13

Series of the Eagle Tipi

28 Running Fisher's family arriving with the Eagle Tipi in the circle-camp. As customary the woman had charge of the pack-horse carrying the tipi with its sacred bundle and equipment. The decorated cover was in the rawhide case at the back. The wife of Running Fisher had dismounted and was about to unpack the horse. The long poles for the tipi were carried separately.

39 The sacred bundles were cared for first. They never lay upon the ground, but were placed on the tripod. In the foreground a painted drum used in the ritual.

40 Opening the rawhide case to take out the decorated cover.

41 Then the cover was spread upon the ground and the equipment made ready for raising the tipi.

42 First the poles were stacked so as to make a circle. There were four main poles upon which the others rested. The four main poles tied together by means of a hide-rope, leaving the long tapering ends to project above the tipi-cover. The cover was lifted into place against the framework of poles, by means of a special pole at the back, carried and around the poles, ## fastened in front by ten small wooden pins running A woman running the front together upward from the door. The women then went inside and moved out the poles, so the cover would be stretched tight and fit without a wrinkle.

14

The Eagle Tipi completed and in place on the inner-circle.

The broad band of paralel zigzag lines in red and black around the center,
represent a river. Above this band and over the door, a pair of eagles
in flight. The top was black for a night sky with constellations on both
wings, and at the bottom a border with fallen stars.

When the cover of the Eagle Tipi was worn out, Running Fisher was the
owner made a new one. The new cover with the same decorations took its
place. But the old one was destroyed - sacrificed to the Sun by spreading
it upon the surface of a lake and sinking beneath the water. Here
Running Fisher and his family were at work on the new cover. It was
stretched on the ground with wooden pegs. He is second from the right
and was a sketching artist over the nga painting lines
around the center, to represent a river. The third figure was sketching
an eagle over the door. The central figure with a rawhide rope over her
shoulders, was the wife of Running Fisher. She was drawing the discs for
stars and constellations, first tracing the lines with a white liquid
scraped from a hide. Some of the paints used came from the ground -
a red earth, also a red from burned yellow earth, a white earth, black
from charred wood, blue from a dark blue mud, green from a lake scum;
most of the yellow from a place on the Yellowstone River, also a buffalo
yellow from their gall stones.

Another woman artist was working on the cover of a Painted Tipi,
sketching discs on the wings for stars. Both men and women made a
specialty of decorating tipis.

15

Eagle Tipi and the inside-circle. A view taken in the early summer with the sun setting far in the northwest.

This Rainbow Tipi of Head Carrier was very old. Two arches for rainbows on the front and back, their extremities almost touching the ground. Within the rainbows at the back, was the figure of the founder. In his left hand he holds a pipe which he is offering to the Sun, together with a feathered shield. The red band at the base represents the color of clouds at sunset, and the discs for the heads of enemies.

A large Thunder Tipi, with a night sky at the top and six red circles for trails of the thunder or lightning. Very large lodges were unusual. There were some however which were made from 30 to 38 buffalo skins and had two or more inside-fires. 30 poles were used for a very large tipi. The Blackfoot made their poles to extend from four to six feet above the top of the lodge, as it gave a better appearance, while some other tribes used shorter poles.

The Thunder Tipi of Cream Antelope - a well pitched tipi with a fine set of straight and tapering poles which extended high above the cover and fitted perfectly throughout, without a wrinkle. All three of these lodges were skilfully constructed by the women. Sets of good poles were used for them all. They were of lodge-pole-pine from the forests on the mountains, long and slender, free from knots or defects and stripped of their bark, and well seasoned so as to be light and easy to handle. A badly trimmed lodge-pole with knots or sharp twigs, would make holes in the tipi-cover and cause leaks. The greater the number of poles and the tighter the cover was stretched, the longer it would last and be better able to resist the storms of wind and heavy rain.

Another Thunder Tipi. The Thunder Bird represented at the back,
standing on a red ball for a thunderbolt, also flashes of lightning and
claws. The black top for a dark storm cloud at night. Beneath is an
arch for a rainbow, a crescent moon, and the Morning Star in blue.
The
ritual was believed to give protection from storms.

<u>849</u> The Blue Tipi, or home of the Thunder. The time I stayed with Marrow Bones in his Otter Tipi, this Thunder Tipi was next to us. It belonged to No Coat, a son of the famous chief Running Crane, and one of the most prominent families in the camp. It was known as a fair-weather-lodge. Its ritual gave protection from storms and had power to clear the sky. The body of the lodge was blue all over, darkest near the top and pale blue near the ground. At the back a large yellow disc; the north half dotted with small blue spots for hail, the south half plain yellow for rain. The idea was that before the rain reached the ground, it had turned to hail. Over the disc, the Tunder Bird was sketched in blue with outspread wings and flashes of lightning from its beak. A drum painted in similar manner went with the lodge and hung from the tripod. At the time of the first thunder in the spring, a ceremony and feast were given. For this Blue Tipi, it was taboo for anyone on foot or horseback, to pass between the tripod where the drum hung and the back of the lodge; and no noise must be made nearby.

<u>450</u> The Buffalo Rock Tipi had a red band at the base and resting upon it were conventional mountains. [It was known as Red Head's tipi.] At the back and front were large red paintings rounded above and resting on the band below, to represent masses of rock often found on the prairie (glacier boulders), against which the buffalo were accustomed to rub themselves.

Four horse tails hung from the smoke-hole, to represent four horses taken by the founder of the tipi from an enemy.

At first my own tipi had no decorations. It was at a time when I could find out little about the Painted Tipis I saw in the camps. Their owners never talked about them, and the common people knew nothing of their secrets - except their power was weakened if their information were made known. One day I very innocently decided, it would add to the appearance and prestige of my tipi in the big camps, to have animal pictures painted on the dover, like other prominent families. I looked them all over and decided I liked "otters" the best.

It was then I began to find out about Painted Tipis. I went to Medicine Weasel, a friend and neighbor of Chief Mad Wolf, my foster-father. He had a reputation as an artist and seemed willing to do the decorating. But when I told him to paint a procession of otters, like a certain tipi designated, it gave him a shock. He had no right, he said, to use the otter design - it might even cause his death. He was so alarmed over the prospect, he asked to be released from painting my lodge under any circumstances.

Then I went to White Grass, the medicine-man and doctor. He too was an associate of Mad Wolf; known as a "beaver-man" who helped in the beaver ceremony. He had good standing in the tribe, because of his knowledge of ceremonies and handling of sacred bundles. He proved more shrewd and resourceful than Medicine Weasel. He refused to paint the "otter-design", but asked if the "Pine Tree" would not do just as well; he had the right to use that design, because he dreamed it himself while sleeping under a pine tree in the mountains. This shows White Grass at work painting the Pine Tree design on my tipi. He is sketching a pine-cone at the back - the symbol for the "pine-tree". He had just finished the bottom - a red band with discs for fallen stars.

White Grass painting my tipi with the pine-tree design. He used pieces of buffalo bones for pencils. They were porous and absorbed the paint, using a different pencil for each color. Water and fat for mixing the colors. He rubbed the pigment into the texture, so it could not be brushed off.

This shows my Pine Tree Tipi as decorated by White Grass. A red band at the base with discs for fallen stars and triangular figures for mountains. At the back a conventional symbol for the pine tree - a broad sharp pine-cone, with lines in yellow projecting from the sides. The top and wings were black for a night sky, with a blue cross for the morning star and discs on both wings for the constellations of the Great Bear and Pleiades (or the Seven Brothers and Bunch Stars as they called them). The rope at the back fastened to stakes driven into the ground, was to prevent the tipi being overturned in a high wind. Also the stones and firewood placed on the lodge-pegs on the southwest side, the direction of the storm.

My Pine Tree Tipi showing the heavy storm clouds settling over the prairies. Here my lariat was fastened to stakes on the west side, when the gale changed to that direction.

Front view of my Pine Tree Tipi, showing the colored area over the door, and the seven blue discs on the north wing, to represent the constellation of the Great Bear in the north, the direction winter storms come from. They called it "Ichkitsikamiks (Seven Persons). And on the south side the Pleiades "Myochpok'iiks" (Bunch Stars), also "The Lost Children. Here the wing on the south side of the smoke hole was dropped, because the wind came from the north.

In addition to the Pine Tree Tipi, I had another lodge which was smaller and easier to handle on hunting expeditions and traveling about. It was given to me by my friends Big Eyes and his wife. They made and decorated it themselves, because I had been kind to their children. She was skilled in the making of tipis and was well-known as a decorator. The cover had pictures of both war and hunting - events which happened in the life of my friend Big Eyes. Figures of men and animals and Indian camps in red, yellow, and blue, - pictographs of his hunting adventures and fights with hostile tribes.

A rear view of my Traveling-Lodge. Whenever I pitched it in Indian camps, this little tipi was always of interest. Indians liked to see the pictographs. They would come in groups, to walk round and round reading its story.

A front view of my little tipi, when it was pitched on a dry bench overlooking a prairie stream. On both sides of the door mountain peaks were represented, and a yellow band at the base with discs for fallen stars. The yellow top for the sky color at sunrise, with the morning star at the back and constellations on both wings. Under the yellow top were bands in color for a rainbow.

Here my Traveling-Tipi was pitched in a forest of the Rocky Mountains. It shows some of the pictographs around the center - notable events in the life of Big Eyes - his brave deeds in war and hunting experiences - the capture of a weapon from an enemy and taking horses at night from a hostile camp. Near the top is an attack on his camp by a band of Sioux Indians and his hand-to-hand fight with the chief of the Sioux. Near the center is a picture of his exciting adventure with five grizzly bears. In one of these pictures he is seen plunging his knife into a large she-grizzly, and in another she was tearing him with her claws. Then left him for dead to mangle his horse.

20

The large Snake Tipi of Medicine Owl. It had a fine appearance in the circle-camp, beautifully pitched, and its cluster of poles dong for and tapering. The top was black a cloudy sky at night, with the constellations shining through. Two large serpents were around the center, the male on the south and the female on the north side. Their heads meet over the door and extend to the rear. Above the snakes are four red bands for their trails and their den represented at the back. The cross at the top the symbol for the moth or sleepbringer, indicated that the tipi came to its founder through a dream. At the bottom a red band with discs for puff balls, or fallen stars on the prairie, and rounded hills.

The sacred bundle and articles that went with its ritual, hang from the tripod at back (left). They included a fringed rawhide case with buffalo hoofs, buffalo rocks (ammonites) which resembled miniature buffalo, and some rattles together with a rawhide used for drumming in the ritual. For this Snake Tipi it was taboo to break any bones inside, lest the owner's horses go lame.

The Water Monster Tipi (left), had two serpent-like figures round the middle with yellow and green plumes extending from their heads. On the back were figures ### of a crescent moon and morning star. For its ritual an altar was made with symbols for the moon, morning star, and mistake-morning-star, also two sundogs with marks for sunbeams. This strange horned serpent with the tipi and its ritual, were believed to have come down from the Sun. The sacred bundle hanging from the tripod was used in the ritual.

The Red Painted Tipi is in the foreground at ## right. With a cross at the back and crescent for the moon.

Elk Tipi, with the figures of a pair of elk, the male on the south and female on the north side. A black top for night with constellations, fallen stars for circles of puff balls on prairies at bottom, and pointed projections for mountains. Bands in red and green under the top, represent the trails of elk. The vitals also shown - brain, heart, kidneys, and life-line.

Mountain Sheep Tipi, with a procession of rams and ewes going towards the door - as usual the rams on the south and ewes on the north side. At the bottom, figures for the mountain peaks they inhabit; and under the black top, circles in red to represent the trails worn by mountain sheep. The vital organs were marked - the brain and life-line extending from the head to the kidneys behind.

The Deer Tipi of Short Robe who was the head-man of the Brave Dog Society. It had figures of a pair of deer, the buck on the south and the doe on the north side. A black top with constellations and two red bands for deer trails. Under the deer figures and close to the mountains they inhabit, are hoof marks for deer tracks. Heavy storm clouds hung low over the Rockies when I took this picture, the lower slopes white with snow. The north section of the circle-camp in background.

After the storm came a heavy gale of wind, which rent asunder the cover of the Deer Tipi. A lariat thrown about the poles and fastened to a stake driven to windward, prevented the tipi being overturned. Also a rope around the center, to hold the cover during the blow. The ear-poles crossed in front to protect the smoke-hole at the top in a storm.

The cover of this Deer Tipi was replaced by a new one, but the old cover was destroyed. There would be no duplicates. In former days when lodge-covers were made of skins, they used the old covers for moccasins and clothes. The smoked tops of lodges were especially good for wet-weather moccasins; they were smoke-cured and did not get hard and crack. But before using for moccasins, the smoked skin was tanned to a white color. This Deer Tipi was constructed with skill. Its cover well designed, the poles carefully selected, slender and light to handle.

A Thunder Tipi which belonged to a visitor from the north - the head-chief of the Kainau (Bloods). His name Apona-kameta (Ermine Horse). He wore a coat presented to him by the Canadian Government; also a large medal. Like other sacred bundles, these Painted Tipis frequently passed in transfer from one division of the Blackfoot confederation to the other. For convenience it was customary to use short poles for traveling.

A Thunder Tipi at sunset. Wolf Plume the owner of this painted-tipi had opened his Beaver Bundle and was giving the ceremony when this picture was taken. The throng of spectators were watching the beaver dances taking place within.

The Thunder Tipi of Brings-Down-The-Sun. In a meadow surrounded by big cottonwood trees. The granddaughter of the old medicine-man in the foreground. This picture was taken in the valley of Old Man's River in Alberta, while I was visiting the camp of Brings-Down-The-Sun, a prominent chief and medicine-man of the North Piegans.

A War Tipi. The recording of deeds by the Blackfoot, was chiefly by picture writing, upon robes, and the back-walls and outside of tipis. Sometimes upon war-shirts and leggings, but the conventional place, and the place they attracted the most attention in the camp, was upon the inside-lining or cover of a tipi. This War Tipi shows the records of the raids and war expeditions of the founder and his associates. The figure of the man with the pipe, symbolized the dream in which this tipi originated. The crooked lines on both sides are rivers where certain events took place. The forks of the river on the right, were easily recognized by those who had knowledge of the country. Figures of men, horses, and other animals, marked successful fights, raids, and hunting expeditions. The sacred bundle which went with the tipi, is fastened to the pole at right. Some War Tipis had bundles and rituals composed of war songs, as was the case of this lodge.

Front view of War Tipi. The symbol for leader is shown by the line of hollow squares at left of door, and is given once for each expedition led. The series of crossed lines mark the number of horses which had been cut loose, when tied close to the enemy tipis at night. Stealing a horse tied up in the enemies' camp was a deed of special importance and had definite symbolism. Records like these - mostly brave deeds in battle - were pictured all around the tipi; capturing of horses, guns, shields, lances, war bonnets, and the taking of scalps. This War Tipi was in reality one of the "Bainted-Lodges," and is a good example of picture writing and heraldry.

The War Tipi of Running Rabbit, a chief of the old generation. He was still living when I first went among the Blackfoot. I remember him well, known in the camp as kindly and benevolent. When I took this picture of his War Tipi in 1908, he had been dead a number of years. But the brave deeds recorded here, were still a social asset to his family and were heralded forth at ceremonial functions. The pictograph at the left of the door indicated a war party intrenched - a circle representing a pit, #were four men marked by four arrow-heads, successfully stood off a greater number of the enemy who surrounded them. Also recorded were war parties against hostile tribes, horse stealing expeditions, wrestling with an enemy to take his weapon, and many scouting expeditions. Two functions of the warpath had distinct symbols, - that of leader and scout. The one for leader is given once for each party led - the three sides of a square. The honor for having been detailed as scout, is marked by lines representing the course taken by a scout with reference to the main body. A curve represents the war party waiting and a zigzag line the course always taken by the scout to conceal their true position.

Another War Tipi with the figure of the founder at the back, a horse tail fastened to the cross at the top for success with horses. Pictographs around the body of the tipi, recorded many battles and adventures with hostile tribes. Seizing a gun from one enemy and taking a war bonnet from another, cutting loose a horse tied close to an enemy lodge, and saving the lives of two companions by leading their horse to safety. Stealing a mule from the U. S. Army, was regarded as an act of especial bravery - the mule was a rare animal in those days.

The Crow Tipi of Yellow Kidney (right), and the Snare Tipi (left).
An Indian by the name of Big Trail was the founder of the Snare Tipi.
Later Bear Chief was the owner, and then Cream Antelope. At the base
was a black band with fallen stars, surmounted by a series of loops in
black, to represent the snares used to trap animals. The top had the
conventional black sky for night and clusters of discs for constellations.
Yellow and red bands under the top represented a rainbow. The ritual was
very long and was believed to have great power. Its sacred bundle
hangs from the tripod. Between these two Painted-Tipis is an unusual
and interesting picture record of war. The pictographs were painted on
the white war-horse of Morning Eagle, a famous old warrior, to herald
forth his brave deeds in war. His friend Marrow Bones led the horse
through the camp and made known the significance of the pictures.

A nearer view of Morning Eagle's war-horse, and showing the
pictographs in detail. Four guns on the rear marked a deed of great
bravery. He took them from four enemies at a place identified by the
figure of a pine tree. The red ball (left) showed a pit where he had
intrenched himself to stand off enemies. Below the bow and arrows
indicated another brave feat, when he seized the guns from the enemy,
while he himself used only bow and arrows. In this fight one of his
followers had four arrows, another three, and another only two arrows.
The number of successful expeditions of which he was leader, are marked
by the hollow squares on the neck, and the taking of horses at night
are also marked, when they were fastened close to the enemy lodges.
The red hand represented the war sign of Morning Eagle - the mark he
always used on his war-horse when he went on the war path. Thus Marrow
Bones led this painted war-horse of his friend through the camp, and
proclaimed in a loud voice the brave deeds of its owner. These war tipis
and records indicated the warlike spirit of the Blackfoot.

A war shirt with enemy scalps taken. The successful horse raids of the owner marked in red symbols - a picket pin and the short end of a rope. These marks represented the horses taken from enemy camps.

Morning Eagle picketing his white war-horse on the lake shore, the evening it had been paraded through camp to herald his brave deeds in war.

Mornig Eagle on his war-horse, a Thunder Tipi in background.
He was then so old and crippled, he could hardly walk, but still appeared
at ceremonies. He died not long after this picture was taken. The
Blackfoot honored successful warriors, especially those skilled in taking
horses from the enemy.

A picture taken many years ago of a tipi made of skins. Tribal records
of important events were kept on buffalo skins, and were known as "winter-
counts". They were handed down from father to son, recording tribal
camps, battles and names of their leaders, when great chiefs died, years
of sickness, hard winters, and summers of drought; when wild game was
scarce and snows lay deep. Some of the most important events recorded by
the Blackfoot in their winter-counts were :

"Their great sickness (smallpox, 1836).

"The time eight tribes assembled in a big camp on the Yellowstone River,
"when Little Dog was their head-chief (1855).

"The coming of the Northwest Mounted Police (1874).

"The cold winter when their horses were frozen (1876)

"The winter when many of their people had the cough sickness.

"The winter when the moose came into camp.

"The winter they ate dogs to keep from starving.

"They first treaty they made with white men.

The Snow or Winter Tipi as it was sometimes called, was especially interesting because of its symbollism and legend of its origin. It is seemed in the center of this picture. It came from Estone-a-pesta, the Maker-of-Storms-and-Blizzards, and was believed to influence the weather. It was known as a "bad-weather-lodge" and was not often seen in the summer camps when the people wanted good weather. The time I took this picture, when the Snow Tipi was pitched in the circle-camp, there was unusually bad weather. Heavy storms and the sky continually covered with clouds. It took a long time to find out about the ritual and decorations.

In bad weather or time of storm, as was the case when this picture was taken, the sacred bundle of the Snow Tipi was taken inside, otherwise it hung outside from a tripod in the rear. It contained articles used in the ritual - feathers which had a protective power and were worn by the owner when he went to war, a mink-skin, wristlets of otter-skin, tobacco pouch, and a black stone pipe. All of which were used in the ritual. The face and body of the owner were painted yellow for the sunlight, red marks on his face and cheeks to represent the Sun, and marks for sun-dogs, because they appear in winter on both sides of the sun and indicate cold and stormy weather.

The Snow Tipi had a yellow top for the color of the sky at sunrise.

(597) A cluster of seven stars on the north wing for the constellation of the Great Bear, the direction blizzards come - the Pleiades on the south wing. At the back a red disc for the Sun with a buffalo tail attached. Under the yellow top, and at the four sides where stood the four main lodge-poles, were four claws to represent the Thunder Bird. At the bottom a yellow band for the earth, with green discs, the ice-color. On both sides of the door were horse tails for good luck with horses. Fastened to the tops of the wing-poles bunches of crow feathers with small bells attached to tinkle in the wind. Some of the taboos were - no drumming allowed inside, the fire must not go out, nor moccasins hung up, dogs were not allowed inside, nor should the tipi-cover be raised.

Legend of the Snow Tipi

The Maker of Storms and Blizzards gave us the Snow Tipi, It happened long ago in winter. A man named Sacred Otter and his young son were hunting buffalo on the open plains. They were at work on the carcass of a large bull and had the hide partly off, when they saw black clouds coming towards them, spreading out and rolling over and over. It was a blizzard and they had no time to get away. They made a shelter with the hide and carcass of the buffalo bull, and crawled inside. A deep drift formed over them - they were soon warm and comfortable in spite of the snow and severe cold.

Then Sacred Otter fell asleep and dreamed of a strange tipi. He was walking round and round looking at its decorations, when he heard a voice say, "Why don't you come inside instead of walking around that way."

Sacred Otter opened the door-flap and saw a fine-looking man seated at the back, smoking a black-stone pipe. His hair was white and he wore a long white robe. Finally the stranger spoke: "I am Estone- a-pesta, the Maker of Cold Weather, and this is my Snow Tipi. It is I who send the blizzards - the snow and cold from the north. And it was I who caught you in the blizzard. But, for the sake of your young son who is with you, I am going to spare your life. I now give you the Snow Tipi with its decorations, also this blackstone pipe, and my supernatural power goes with it. When you get safely back to your camp, make a new lodge and paint its cover with pictures like those you see on mine.

The Cold Maker taught him the songs and prayers that went with the ritual, and said they should be used for healing the sick - and gave him a charm to wear when he went to war, which had protective power.