Resistance, Resilience, and Blackfoot Horse Culture from the Reservation Period to the Present

Summary

Programs of forced settlement and assimilation were responsible for the loss of many aspects of traditional Blackfoot lifeways. At the same time, however, they also strengthened the identity of the Blackfoot people as they resisted absorption into Euroamerican culture. This resistance through adaptation is seen in the Blackfoot people’s continued use of and adoration for horses. While many elements of nomadic Blackfoot culture were abandoned in the late nineteenth century with the near extinction of bison and subsequent confinement on reservations and reserves, the twentieth century saw the emergence of a new Blackfoot horse culture adapted for settled life. This paper explores the continued investment in horsemanship by the Blackfoot during the reservation period in the US and Canada. Through archaeological data, historic records, and consultation with tribal elders and traditional horse men and women, an understanding of the continued relationships between the Piikani people and their horses is developed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018   •
• Reservation Archaeology: Culture Change, Historical Trauma, and Community Resilience in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Native North America

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 376