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cultural
historical
contexts of
Fools Crow
by James Welch
James Welch
Blackfeet/Gros Ventre/Irish
Blackfeet Indians
Blackfeet Confederacy
• Pikunis (or Piegans)
• Kainah (or Bloods)
lived in Alberta & Saskatchewan
• Siksikas (Blackfeet)
• In Montana
• Each divided into bands; Pikunis
about 24 bands including Lone
Eaters, Small Robes and Small
Brittle Fats
• Each band had 10-20 lodges, 80100 people.
• Adapted to environment
Political Structure
• Democratic, decentralized, nonbinding.
• Political power gained through leadership skill. Could not force anyone or
any band to comply. Individuals and bands were free to dissent & act on
their own.
• Bands/tribes got together only a couple of times a year, such as for the Sun
Dance.
Cultural Value Differences
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Northern Plains Tribal Values
Communal
Mobile
Polygamous
Respect for earth & animals
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European American Values
Individualistic
Sedentary
Monogamous
Nature & animals to be
owned/conquered
Cultural Value Differences
• Rule by consensus
• Focus on the present
• Native spiritual beliefs
• Rule by hierarchy
• Focus on the future
• Christian
Concepts of War
• Northern Plains Tribal
• Fighting sporadic due to hunting and
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raiding conflicts
Hit & run tactics with small casualties
Wealth determined by horses; raid to
acquire horses (wealth) & gain
masculine honor.
Defined by code of bravery & honor –
“counting coup”
• European American
• Annihilation of entire band.
Blackfeet Marriage & Gender
• Men with sufficient wealth & status sometimes had multiple wives.
• Buffalo economy took enormous labor by women; fewer men than women
due to danger of hunting and warfare.
• Provided social safety net. Often a sister to a wife became a wife.
• Patriarchal – men had most power. Women highly respected and worked
hard.
Buffalo Economy of Northern Plains
Buffalo Economy of Northern Plains
• Primary source of food; later used for trading with whites
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Other Uses:
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Hides for teepees, robes, bedding, containers for storage, travel & cooking
Sinew for thread
Bones for tools, needles
Hair for rope (combined with plant fibers)
Buffalo economy
Life revolved around the bison.
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Horns for ladles
Hooves for glue
Chips for fuel
Brains for tanning hides
Fat for skin conditioner
Hunting
• Before 18th Century, Blackfeet
hunted on foot; arrival of horse
between 1730 and 1754 allowed
them to kill more bison than was
necessary for survival.
• Arrival of repeating rifle also
changed dynamics
Comparison of Blackfeet and Christian
Genesis Stories
• Na’pi of the Blackfeet Genesis
• Creates while living on earth
• Creates out of playfulness,
• God of Old Testament Genesis
• Creates from afar
• Creates with a master plan
artfulness, and randomness
• Makes mistakes, but usually
corrects them
• Is infallible
Blackfeet/Christian Creators
• Lives among his chosen people
• Teaches practical and spiritual
things
• Firm in judgment but leaves people
to the consequences of their
actions
• Has a sense of humor
• Looks down on his chosen people
from afar
• Offers spiritual commandments
• Is stern and quick with punishment
• Has no sense of humor
Blackfeet/Christian creators
• Likes to play
• Is capable of greed
• Is capable of being foolish
• Has no sense of play
• Has no apparent material desires
• Is all-knowing and infallible
Sacred Stories in Fools Crow
• Scarface and Feather Woman
• A story of love and an archetypal
quest.
• How does Welch link his characters
to this sacred Blackfeet story?
Scarface’s actions and corresponding values
• Proposing to the girl in a publicly
open way
• Asking help from old woman, wolf
• Hones, forthright, respectful
• Humility, respect for the knowledge
of animals, persistence
bear, badger, wolverine and swans
• Leaving the weapons where they lie
• Killing the great birds
• Honesty
• Bravery, friendship
Important dates of Blackfeet
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1781
1st smallpox epidemic decimates northern Plains tribes
1806
M. Lewis’s party kills 2 Blackfeet men
1833
Blackfeet population exceeds 20,000
1837
2nd smallpox epidemic kills ½ of Blackfeet
1855
1st treaty with whites encourages Blackfeet to take up farming and
allows for construction of roads and garrisons
Important dates
• 1869-70
• 1870
3rd smallpox epidemic reduces the people significantly
Baker Massacre—a US Army force assaults a Pikuni camp on
the Marias River, seeking revenge for the murder of a European
American rancher married to a Pikuni. Though the band was
led by the cooperative Chief Heavy Runner, 15 men, 90 women
and 50 children were massacred.
Important Dates
• 1873
Great Northern Reservation formed—Blackfeet are forced
onto reservations, which effectively ends their economic
relationship with the buffalo.
• 1887
Dawes Allotment Act – forced to farm – not ranch – children
sent to boarding schools, denied religious freedom and had to
speak English. Lost allotted land to non-Indians.
Men’s Social Groups
based on age and fighting experience
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Little Birds
Pigeons
Mosquitoes
Braves
All Crazy Dogs
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Ravens
Dogs
Tails
All Friends Society
Animals
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Big ears –jackrabbit
Bighorn—bighorn sheep
Blackhorn—buffalo
Blackhorn runner—hunting horse
Ears-far-apart—owl
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Prairie runner—antelope
Real-bear—grizzly bear
Skunk bear—wolverine
Elk dog—old term for horse
Animals
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Swift silver people—fish
Wags-his-tail—white-tailed deer
Sticky mouth—black bear
Little big mouth—coyote
• Whitehorn—cattle
• Wood-biter—beaver
• Long-leg--elk
Astronomical Terms
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Night Red Light – moon
Sun Chief – sun
Morning Star – Venus
Poia/Star Boy – Jupiter, Saturn, or
another planet traveling in
conjunction with Venus
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Seven Persons – Big Dipper
Lost Children – Pleiades
Star-that-stands-still – North Star
Dusty Trail – Milky Way
Religious Terms
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Na’pi/Old Man – creator/trickster
Nitsokan – dream helper
So-at-sa-ki – Feather Woman
Sand Hills – where the dead go
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Sun – creator
Night Red Light – the Sun’s wife
Morning Star – the son of the Sun
Poia – son of Feather Woman and
Morning Star
Dream Record for Fools Crow
Dream Topic
Character’s
Response
Author’s Possible
Intention
Ethics, Community, Individualism
• Character: ____________________________
• Decision: _____________________________
• Personal Benefit or Harm:
_____________________________________________________
• Tribal Benefit or Harm:
_____________________________________________________
For Discussion
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Which character are you most interested and/or drawn to?
What aspects of the settler culture do the Pikuni not understand?
What aspects of Pikuni culture to the settlers not understand?
What might they have done to come to a better understanding of each
other?
• What Pikuni cultural qualities do you most admire?
• How is the theme of settler colonialism portrayed in the novel?