Transcript The Blackfeet of Glacier National Park

The Blackfeet of Glacier
National Park
Find out about Glacier National
Park
Click on the pictures above to explore the hyperlinked
websites. Read about Glacier National Park and write
down five interesting facts you found out about this park.
The Blackfeet Tribe
•
Blackfeet tribes are part of the native plains culture. The people lived in
teepees and depended on buffalo for their main subsistence. Using horses
for transportation, they led a nomadic lifestyle in order to follow the roaming
buffalo herds. Early interactions with traders were friendly, and the Blackfeet
traded animal pelts for guns and ammunition. As settlers encroached on
their land, the Plains Indians warred against the U.S. government until they
were settled in their respective reservations.
•
The Blackfeet Reservation is adjacent to the eastern boundary of Glacier
National Park, and the reservation now enjoys a peaceful working
relationship with the Park personnel. In the early days of the Park, the
Blackfeet took part in the effort to promote tourism at Glacier National Park
by greeting the visitors as they disembarked from the train. One of the first
sites that tourists saw as they got off the train, was an encampment of
Blackfeet. The Blackfeet entertained visitors by demonstrating their native
music, dance, and pipe ceremonies. In addition, the Blackfeet chiefs sat by
the fireplace to meet with visitors with a welcome speech. Today, native and
cultural advisor Charlie Bear Wagner, speaks to guests about stories of his
people.
http://www.pbs.org/opb/greatlodges/teachers/teachers.htm
Cultures
Language
Legends
Shelter
Culture
Music
Art
Clothing
Your team will become an expert on these topics involved in the
Blackfoot culture. You will choose three of the six areas to research
and create a product for. Each topic will have an accompanying
poster that explains the project and its significance in the daily life of
the Blackfeet tribe.
 The shelter group will research teepees and learn how to
build a tipi so that it is easily erected and taken down.
This was important to the tribe because they had to be
able to break camp at a moments notice when a buffalo
herd or enemies were spotted. Once it is made, the
group should view paintings by the Plains Indians (see
website in resource section) and paint similar scenes of
daily life or accomplishments on the covering to
complete the tipi. This group will make a sign for the
museum explaining how teepees were built and
describing the use of teepees in the plains culture.
• The art group will research the plains art and
make the following projects: parafleche, peace
pipe, and shield. You will access the websites
listed in the resource section for information on
making these articles. You will also need to find
out how and why plains art had a
utilitarian/functional component to it. You will
make a sign explaining how each item was
made and how they were used by the Plains
people.
 The legends group will read a variety of
legends (see resources page) and each
person will memorize at least two to share
with the class during our “museum” time.
You will make a sign explaining the
purpose of legends in the Blackfeet culture
and how they are similar to, and different
from, legends of other tribes.
 The language group will go to a website that has
recorded various phrases in the Blackfoot
language. You will listen to these phrases and
learn at least 3. Learning words from a new
language is a difficult task and will require a lot
of concentration and practice to master. You will
make a sign explaining the language and
showing some examples. You will teach the
phrases to the class during our museum time.
• Students in the clothing group will hand stitch a
simple garment and use beads to decorate it.
Plains Indians made their clothes out of animal
skins, and they frequently decorated the
moccasins, dresses, and shirts with beadwork.
The beads should be threaded and stitched to
the garment in a design that typifies the Plains'
culture. This group's sign will explain the Plains
clothing and how it was made.
 The music group will make their own
drums. You will listen to recordings of
traditional Blackfeet music (see resources)
and either learn a song or sing and play
along with a recording. This group's sign
will explain the use of music in the
Blackfeet culture.
Web Resources
• The Algonkian Languages
http://www.concentric.net/~yoman1/home/algon.html
• Blackfoot
http://www.anthro.mankato.msus.edu/
cultural/northamerica/blackfoot.html#
• Blackfoot Audio Samples (language)
http://www.schoolnet.ca/aboriginal/audiosam/blackfot/blacke.html
• Blackfeet Creation Tale
http://www.montana.edu/~wwwbcc/legend.html
• Blackfeet Indians
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/native/idx_bla.html
• Blackfoot Legends
http://www.indians.org/welker/blacfeet.htm
•
How the Worm Pipe Came to the Blackfeet
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/stories/scarpipe.html
•
Indian Nations of Montana: Blackfeet
http://lewisandclark.state.mt.us/blackfeet.htm
•
An Introduction of North America's Naive People; The Plains
http://www.cabrillo.cc.ca.us/~c/noamer_plains.html
•
Music of the Plains Indians
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~nespaldi/plains2.html
•
Numbers in North Amerindian Languages (1-10)
http://www.zompist.com/amer.htm#alg
•
Official site of the Blackfeet Nation
http://www.blackfeetnation.com
•
Plains Indians Crafts
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/crafts/plainscrafts.htm
•
Plains Indians Drawings
http://www.tribalarts.com/feature/plains/index.html
•
Plains Indians and Their Traditional Arts
http://www.cheneycowles.org/ccmes/parts.htm
•
Plains Teepee
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/houses/tipi.html
•
Regional Overview of Native American Clothing Styles
http://www.nativetech.org/clothing/regions/regn10.html
•
Siksikai'Powahsin (language)
http://www.angelfire.com/ar/waakomimm/language.html
•
World Language
http://www.worldlanguage.com/Languages/Blackfoot.htm#sample
•
Blackfeet Music
http://www.ocbtp.com/blackfee.html
•
Blackfeet Tales
http://www.ocbtracker.com/ladypixel/blackft.html
•
The Cultural Areas: a Survey
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/pub/fnc/pln_e.html#food