09+-+Ashley


 * Blackfoot Confederacy **

media type="youtube" key="cQ3ER0Mmy0I" height="281" width="341" The Blackfoot Confederacy is the name given to four Native American tribes in the Northwestern Plains, which include the North Piegan the South Piegan, the Blood, and the Siksika tribes. In the beginning they occupied a large territory stretching from the North Saskatchewan River in Canada to the Missouri River in Montana. The four groups, sharing a common language and culture, had treaties of mutual defense, gathered for ceremonial rituals, and freely intermarried. Head-Smashed-In is a hill site in southwestern Alberta. The Blackfoot used it for hundreds of years. It is known as a speritual place to the tribe. It has been around for approximatly 7,000 years.
 * Location **
 * Best Known Feature**

** Housing **

The Blackfoot lived in buffalo-hide houses called tipis. The Blackfeet moved frequently to follow the buffalo herds, so a tipi was carefully designed to set up and break down quickly, like a tent. An entire Blackfoot village could be packed up and ready to move within an hour. Today, Native Americans only put up a tepee for fun or to connect with their heritage, not as shelter.

** Culture ** [|Here is a link to the official Blackfoot tribe.] Blackfoot children do the same things all children do today, play with each other, go to school and help around the house. Many Blackfoot children like to go hunting and fishing with their fathers. In the past, Indian kids had more chores and less time to play, just like children today. But they did have dolls, toys, and special games. Blackfoot mothers, like many Native Americans, carried their babies in cradledoares on their backs, a custom which many American parents have adopted now. Blackfoot women wore long deerskin dresses. Men wore buckskin tunics and leggings. Both men and women used moccasins and buffalo hide robes in the winter. Blackfoot Chief's would wear big feather headdresses. The men would have their hair in braids and the women would leave their hair down or in two thicker braids. media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=108562885642345666021.00047a64abff551d947b5&ll=33.979494,-39.572754&spn=41.693029,75.454102&output=embed" width="425" height="350"