Katherine Coppe's List: Blackfoot religion

• • Conaty, Gerald T.. Comments and reflections: economic models and Blackfoot ideology
• A bundle is acquired by having the owner transfer the physical objects, the songs, and the stories related to the objects to the new owner. The value of bundles varies, but Thunder Medicine Pipe Bundles and Beaver Bundles are acquired at great expense. The purchase price is frequently obtained by pooling the resources of an extended family as horses, blackets, money, and food are accumulated. Contributing individuals are then “painted for the bundle” and, in the case of the Thunder Medicine Pipe Bundle, are given special necklaces and bracelets to wear as symbols of their membership in the bundle family. The former owner and his wife become spiritual grandparents to the new owner and his wife.
• • Conaty, Gerald T.. Comments and reflections: economic models and Blackfoot ideology
• Although it is always the man who is referred to as the bundle owner, in fact the husband and wife act as true co-owners or, more properly, as parents. The woman is responsible for carrying the bundle (men cannot do this), smudging it in the morning and evening, and ensuring that it is safe at all times. The husband and wife learn the bundle songs together and sing these to the bundle each day. Additionally, the husband is responsible for admitting people to the bundle family, lending parts of the bundle to people in need (such as warriors), and arranging for the ceremonies at which the bundle is opened. Throughout such ceremonies the husband and wife remain seated at the back of the tipi with the bundle between them. The woman seated by her husband has come to be regarded as the “sits-beside-him” wife. The ceremonies at which these bundles are opened are presided over by a ceremonialist and his “sits-beside-him” wife who together have owned such bundles in the past. Their roles are significant and they are paid accordingly.
• • Conaty, Gerald T.. Comments and reflections: economic models and Blackfoot ideology
• In the past the bundles fostered an economic stratification within Blackfoot society. Wealthier families could more easily afford (at least in the material sense) the purchase of a bundle and the expense of an opening ceremony. Some of this expense was recouped when, for example, individuals paid for the privilege of dancing with the Thunder Medicine Pipe for good health or special protection. Today, this payment is made by giving money and many blankets to the bundle owner; the wife then redistributes these to other people at the ceremony, especially other bundle owners who have come to offer spiritual support
• The knowledge that went with bundle ownership was a source of secure income for those who possessed it. A man might also calculate his wealth in terms of the number of horses he owned, but the size of his herd was an ephemeral standard of wealth. One raid by an enemy or one harsh winter and he would be reduced to poverty. Knowledge, however, was not lost when a bundle was transferred. Instead, after a man had owned several bundles, and his knowledge of ceremonies grew, respect for him increased. Provided he did not personally alienate others in his camp, the knowledge became his old age security as other bundle owners would request his services as a ceremonialist

  • Conaty, Gerald T.. Comments and reflections: economic models and Blackfoot ideology
• • Conaty, Gerald T.. Comments and reflections: economic models and Blackfoot ideology
• Although bundles were not and are not, strictly, speaking, inherited, it is more likely that offspring of a bundle-owning family will come to own bundles themselves. Having grown up in a spiritual atmosphere, they easily follow the pattern in later life. Often, one child is singled out as a special member of the bundle family, and the Thunder Medicine Pipe Bundle has special regalia for this child. He or, less often, she may grow up within a special atmosphere as a  minipoka, or favored child

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• For the Blackfoot, there are three levels of beings below lssapaitapi, or the Supreme Being: the Above People (Sspomitapiisksi); the On Earth People (Ksaahkommitapiiksi); and the Underwater People (Sooyiitapiiksi). These people represent (or are represented by) the spirits of various animals, plants, and other elements within the Blackfoot world, and they have given themselves to various bundles or, sometimes, have given bundles and ceremonies to the Blackfoot. Sspomitapiiksi include the sun, moon, morningstar, other stars and planets, cranes, eagles, and other birds of the upper sky. Ksaahkommitapiiksi include birds of the lower sky, plants, and animals of the earth. Sooyiitapiiksi are the fish and underwater creatures as well as beaver, marten, and others who live in the water and on land. Real People (Niitsitapi), human members of the Blackfoot culture, use the physical representations within the bundles as a means of connecting with the intangible (that is, the spirits and their power). This connection, or awareness, is necessary for reminding the Real People that they must maintain a balance between the concerns of the material world and the concerns of the spiritual world. Success comes to those who are able to maintain this balance. In Blackfoot eyes, success is not necessarily expressed as possession of material goods or the means of production. Success comes through access to spiritual power that, if honored and respected,  may result in material wealth

  • Conaty, Gerald T.. Comments and reflections: economic models and Blackfoot ideology
• For example, recounting stories of successful war exploits or horse raiding adventures was an important component of ceremonies; four such stories were told before people ate and before they left at the end of the ceremony. Similar stories are still told today. Occasionally, famous warriors were paid to recount their battles, which were then recorded on tipi covers or on bison robes. These men were not bragging about their successes; rather, they ended each story with the hope that the luck that was with them in the past would be shared with all who were present. In other words, they were acknowledging that they owed their material success to a spiritual power. By recounting their stories, they were sharing that blessing with the general public.

  • Conaty, Gerald T.. Comments and reflections: economic models and Blackfoot ideology
• he concept of bundles and bundle ownership provides insights to Blackfoot ideology and social relationships. Spiritual power rests in the physical objects found in many types of Blackfoot bundles. Two of the most important are the Thunder Medicine Pipe Bundles and the Beaver Bundles. These types of bundles contain many different items and are acknowledged to contain much power. Those who owned the bundles were among the most respected members of the community. A “chief” had, as a rule, owned and transferred to someone else two Medicine Pipe Bundles and often looked after a Beaver Bundle. This signature of status remains salient today, and I have often been instructed to visit bundle owners whenever I have sought advice or information. Given the importance of bundles, the   [Page 406]   structure of a bundle-owning family reveals an important understanding of Blackfoot social relations.

  • Conaty, Gerald T.. Comments and reflections: economic models and Blackfoot ideology

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• • Conaty, Gerald T.. Comments and reflections: economic models and Blackfoot ideology
• The people have no other medicine to lead buffalo over the drive or make them come, outside of the story of the woman who first found the buffalo rock. When buffalo are far away the Buffalo rocks and songs are used to bring them near. The Black buffalo painted lodge is used to bring the Buffalo near as they have the buffalo rocks, the Beaver men get the Buffalo hoofs from the Buffalo lodge owners and the Buffalo lodge owner‘s [ sic] get the offering songs with the Eagle Tail feathers from the Beaver man. The woman who found the buffalo rock was married to a man who owned a beaver bundle. This woman gave her rocks to the Buffalo lodge owners. [Duvall 1904-11, 1:16]
• It is important to note that, according to Blackfoot legend, the  iniskim or buffalo-calling stones were given by the buffalo spirit to a woman. Although she then gave them to her husband, there is no indication of coercion (see the legends in Grinnell 1962:125; Wissler and Duvall 1908:85-90).

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• The second concern requires an exploration of Blackfoot worldview and the role and value of sacred bundles. An important source for this information lies in those myths or legends that provide the Blackfoot with evidence that the abstract rules of cultural conduct have been tested. In a sense, the myths provide a justification for the cultural norms. (It is important to recognize that we are dealing with cultural norms and not exceptional behavior.) It has been my experience that centuries-old norms are still valued today and that the legends are still   [Page 404]   viewed as explanations of some natural phenomena and as sources of authority for some patterns of behavior.

• • Ewers, John Canfield. The Blackfeet: raiders of the northwestern Plains
• But Old Man and Old Woman could not agree on one important point. Should the people live forever, or should they die? Finally Old Man said, “I will throw a buffalo chip into the water. If it floats, the people will die for four days and live again; but, if it sinks, they will die forever.” He threw the buffalo chip into the water, and it floated. “No,” said Old Woman, “I will throw this rock. If it floats, the people will die for four days. If it sinks, they will die forever.” She threw the rock into the water, and it sank to the bottom. Then they agreed that it was better that way. If people lived forever they would never feel sorry for one another.
• At first the people were hungry and cold. Then Old Man showed them how to collect edible roots and berries, how to make wooden bows and stone-headed arrows, how to use weapons, traps, and deadfalls to kill buffalo and the smaller animals for food, and how to dress animal skins for warm clothing.

  • Ewers, John Canfield. The Blackfeet: raiders of the northwestern Plains
• His work of creation completed, Old Man climbed a high mountain and disappeared.  ¹

  • Ewers, John Canfield. The Blackfeet: raiders of the northwestern Plains
• Some say that Napi’s home was in the mountains at the head of the stream that still bears his name, Oldman River, in the province of Alberta. Blackfoot Indians can still point out Old Man’s gambling place west of Fort Macleod, where Napi played the hoop-and-pole game long, long ago. However, the fact that Old Man, the creator, also appears in the mythology of the Arapaho, Gros Ventre, and Cree tribes suggests that he may have been   [Page 5]   known to the Blackfeet in prehistoric times. Their old men probably were telling their grandchildren of Napi’s wonder-workings long before the three Blackfoot tribes moved westward to their historic homeland in Alberta and Montana.

  • Ewers, John Canfield. The Blackfeet: raiders of the northwestern Plains

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• the Blackfeet in dog days. Undoubtedly they shared with the forest tribes a basic belief in the ability of supernatural birds or animals to communicate some of their sacred power to young men who actively sought it through prayers and fasting. This power, they believed, would aid and protect its human beneficiary throughout his life. Men who received power from the same animal, such as the bear, beaver, or buffalo, formed cults and performed ceremonies they believed were sacred to that animal. Perhaps the most important of these animal cults in dog days was that of the beaver, for it was the beaver medicine men whose rituals charmed the buffalo into the corral and brought food to their people in time of need.  ¹³

  • Ewers, John Canfield. The Blackfeet: raiders of the northwestern Plains

• In attributes the Sun is very unlike Old Man. He is a beneficent person, of great wisdom and kindness, good to those who do right. As a special means of obtaining his favor, sacrifices must be made. These are often presents of clothing, fine robes, or furs, and in extreme cases, when the prayer is for life itself, the offering of a finger, or—still dearer—a lock of hair. If a white buffalo was killed, the robe was always given to the Sun. It belonged to him. Of the buffalo, the tongue—regarded as the greatest delicacy of the whole animal—was especially sacred to the Sun.   [Page 259]   The sufferings undergone by men in the Medicine Lodge each year were sacrifices to the Sun. This torture was an actual penance, like the sitting for years on top of a pillar, the wearing of a hair shirt, or fasting in Lent. It was undergone for no other purpose than that of pleasing God—as a propitiation or in fulfilment of vows made to him. Just as the priests of Baal slashed themselves with knives to induce their god to help them, so, and for the same reason, the Blackfoot men surged on and tore out the ropes tied to their skins. It is merely the carrying out of a religious idea that is as old as history and as widespread as the globe, and is closely akin to the motive which to-day, in our own centres of enlightened civilization, prompts acts of self-denial and penance by many thousands of intelligent cultivated people. And yet we are horrified at hearing described the tortures of the Medicine Lodge.

  • Grinnell, George Bird, 1849-1938. Blackfoot lodge tales: the story of a prairie people