Kole Parsons
Eng 110
11/15/2011

Who are the Blackfeet Indians?

What is a Blackfeet Indian? There are two ways to answer this. One is the legal way that most white people would understand and the other way is the way that only we as Indians would understand. The formal definition of Native American is; “A member of any of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere. The ancestors of the Native Americans are generally considered by scientists to have entered the Americas from Asia by way of the Bering Strait sometime during the late glacial epoch.” Legally speaking, by white man standards, one has to take the definition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs which says; “According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in order to be officially defined as an American Indian, a person must meet all of the following criteria: • He must be listed as a member of a federally recognized tribe. • He must be able to definitively trace his Indian ancestry back at least three generations. • He must be formally approved by BIA officials. • His blood quantum must be at least 1/4 American Indian. There are other criteria for a whole tribe to be recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. That consists of seven requirements. Those government definitions are: • Traditional • Constructed as imagined community • Blood Quantum • Residence on Tribal lands • Construction by others • United States government definitions • Self-Identification (including personal reasons for self-identification) Having gotten the legal definition of what it means to be Indian out of the way, you can begin to get to the heart of the question; “Who are the Blackfeet?” My own personal definition is - to be a member of the tribe that was once fierce fighters who took care of themselves, their families, and the land without having to ask anyone for help. A true Blackfeet has total faith in the creator and the earth. We know how to live in harmony with the land and the animals and take only what we need and nothing more. Today our tribe has become totally opposite from that definition. Many Blackfeet today have totally bought in to the white man’s definition of “Indian”. It seems our people are waiting for the government or the tribal council to hand them money and houses to live in. Today we are defined by how much Blackfeet blood we have or if we are enrolled by Government standards. The enrollment issue on our reservation is kind of an “open wound” to those who can say that they are full blood Blackfeet. One interesting thing that I found out about some other tribes is that they don’t measure the degree of just one tribe but they measure the degree of all Indian blood in order to be enrolled in their tribe. One hand, I think that is how we should think of ourselves, as one nation, Native American, and not worry about how much Blackfeet, Cree, or other tribe we are. On the other hand, I think of how proud those few Blackfeet are that can say “I am full blood Blackfeet”. The whole enrollment issue is a way of identifying who we are by government standards. It is a way of telling tribes who was eligible for federal hand outs and who was not. Today many people still want to be enrolled as Indians. I know that there are people who regularly call to ask the Blackfeet Tribe how they can be enrolled as Blackfeet members. Unfortunately for us our tribe has wholeheartedly taken the governments’ way of identifying who is Blackfeet and who is not. It is sad that many of our people do not consider themselves or others as Indian unless they can be officially enrolled. There are so many issues to consider if you think about being Blackfeet. Issues such as identity, culture, society, biological, and the legal and political status of our people all have an influence on our identity. Every since the white man invaded our country we (Native Americans) have been struggling to define who we are. Maybe the question should be, “Who have we become?” or, “Who are we, really?”. In my research I was surprised to find that there are people back east who call themselves some form of Blackfoot or Blackfeet. One site I look on posed and interesting theory: There has been an alarming amount of information streaming through the southeast in reference to "Blackfoot" Indians in the region. Most people are very strong about their family's heritage coming from this group based on oral history. However, I believe with the utmost assurance that except for some remote locations (Hampton, VA.,Carlisle, PA,etc) there were no Blackfoot Indians in the region. The Blackfoot Indians who were here were relatively late and related to the Indian school movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. So where are all these Blackfoot Indians coming from? The answer is very simple. Are these individuals Indian? Absolutely! Most Americans could not name you dozen tribal names - they just aren't that informed. However some groups have a widespread popularity - Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux (Lakota), Blackfeet, Seminole.” So here we are, thinking that we are the “only” Blackfeet” in the United States. This bit of information changes the answer to the question or at least provides for more to think about. What if our people are scattered all over the United States and Europe? Does that mean that we don’t have the traditions and culture that we thought belonged to us? Does that change our identity all together? Books by Walter McClintock, Clark Wissler, D. C. Duvall, George Bird Grinnell, John C. Ewers identify Blackfeet Indians as, “being somewhat aloof, self-centered, almost arrogant in their attitudes towards others. I see it as being self-contained, or self-possessed. Yet there was a quality of gentle humor, wit, and sarcasm…” This description sounds good to me. I think that they were able to experience true Blackfeet Indians. Today you can still find that identity in us. We are known for our humor, wit, and sarcasm. Taking all this into consideration, we have one thing that no one will ever be able to take from us and that is our culture. No matter how we use it, it will always be there. A lot of our young people today are returning to our culture and traditions to get back in tune with who they are. They are learning to be proud of themselves and get educated. I believe that is the one thing that will save us in the end. Being “Blackfeet”, most people can’t say that or don’t have the culture and values in them. I am lucky..We are lucky.

References 1. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-it-means-to-be-an-american- indian.html#ixzz10BDblOcR 2. http://www.bigorrin.org/blackfoot_kids.htm 3. http://www.saponitown.com/forum/showthread.php?479-Blackfoot-Indians 4. Walter McClintock, The Old North Trail, Or Life, Legends and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians, 1999, University of Nebraska Press. 5. Clark Wissler, D. C. Duvall, Mythology of the Blackfoot Indians, 1995, University of Nebraska Press. 6. George Bird Grinnell, Blackfoot Lodge Tales: The Story of a Prairie People, 1962, University of Nebraska Press. 7. John C. Ewers, The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture: With Comparative Material from Other Western Tribes, 1955, U.S. Government Printing Office.