Fresh Batch #9: Blackfeet and Bison

Montana Tribes

I don’t know what to call them. They’re not natives. Most of these tribes have no history in the area other than coming down from Canada a few hundred years ago. If they’re not from India, then they’re not Indians. In order to avoid repetition, see my prior posts regarding the Sage Wall & Montana Megaliths where I flushed out some ideas about the history of the Montana Tribes.

According to Machiavelli, “It is better to defeat the enemy by hunger than with steel; in such victory fortune counts more than virtue. Whoever does not make provisions necessary to live, is overcome without steel.”

In reading the following from Montana Indians, I can’t help but suspect that the bison were intentionally driven to extinction as a warfare tactic to starve the tribes into submission, “In 1865 and 1868, treaties were negotiated for their lands south of the Missouri (a river that runs through Montana), but were not ratified by Congress. In 1873 and 1874, the Blackfeet southern boundary was moved 200 miles north by Presidential orders and Congressional Acts. The land to the south was opened to settlement. During the winters of 1883 and 1884, the Blackfeet experienced unsuccessful buffalo hunts. After the disappearance of the buffalo, the Blackfeet faced starvation and were forced to accept reservation living and dependence upon rationing for survival.

“In 1888, additional lands were ceded and separate boundaries established for the Blackfeet, Fort Belknap, and Fort Peck Reservations. In 1896 an agreement was once again made between the United States government and the Blackfeet Tribe. This time the United States government was asking for the sale of the Rocky Mountains, which bordered the reservation to the west. It was believed that there were valuable minerals there. A commission was sent out to negotiate and heated disagreements ensued with tribal members over how much land and money this agreement would involve. The end result was a cession of land that now makes up Glacier National Park and the Lewis and Clark National Forest. Today this agreement is still in dispute over how much land and money was agreed upon. The Blackfeet Tribe still holds some rights in Glacier National Park and in the Lewis and Clark National Forest.”

While some of you may think of me as Captain Obvious, I’ll offer other possibilities as to what happened to the bison for members. That being said, the Blackfeet also drove Bison off the cliff at Head-Smashed-In through the 19th century.

When you learn about the accounts from a couple centuries earlier in Spirit Whirled: Terminalia, it’s difficult not suspect the worst. Is it possible to investigate a subject without an emotional attachment to what you’ll find? My goal is to train those of you who read my work to get into that mindset.

Become a member to access the rest of this article.