PARSING THE PARTS (BLACKFEET)

Because everyone defines “religion” as “institutions,” which if Protestant Christian are conventionally sorted by denomination (Baptists for immersion baptism, Unitarians for monotheism, Lutherans for following Luther, Quakers for shaking with the spirit, and so on)  there has been consternation that so many people are leaving the standard known denominations.  

Steven I. Weiss, a journalist; S. Brent Plate, a religion expert;  and Laurie Goodstein, the NY Times Religion correspondent, got to thinking what people guide their lives with -- as though they were religions or at least with religious fervor and how they might be defined aif they were denominations.  These are the belief centres they came up with:

- Jewish Heretic

- Lapsed Catholic

- Evangelical Outcast

- Yoga and Pilates

- Loves Comic Books

- Spiritual

- Nature lover

- Bitter ex-Fundamentalist

- Church of Art adherent

- Devotee of the Drum circle

- Sports

- Astrophysicist

- The Constitution is all the religion I need.

I don’t know why they didn’t add “New York Times readers.”  Or “Twitter addicts”.  Obviously this is Manhattan-centric.

Harry Barnes, Chairman of the Blackfeet Tribal Council

So I’m going to try composing a Blackfeet-centric list of kinds of people beyond the most obvious genetic or origin categories.

The first sequence one might define is an historical progression that might or might not actually have anything to do with provable descent from the original residents of the area.

Buffalo Indians: “full-blood,” meaning they were on or directly descended from the original army-developed list of people who should receive commodities, entirely innocent of white ways.

Three Blackfeet Indians in ceremonial suits, maybe early in the 20th century

Blanket Indians:  Continuing the old ways but mixing in white materials: blankets instead of buffalo robes, canvas tipi skins.  “Citizen’s dress” of pants and jacket.  Still braids.  Maybe primary school.

Mission Indians:  Short hair, Euro-style clothes, bread bakers or maybe fry bread.  High school grads.

Relocation Indians: Those who have spent time in cities and adopted those ways.

Totally assimilated:  Easily pass for white, even if they look Indian, which is taken as “Italian” or something.  Steady employment.  Maybe college.

Metis: a mixture of white and Indian with considerable variety, from “half-breed” to imperceptible.

"Napi" Devereaux, policeman who talked a suicidal man to safety this March.

If you mix and match this with the previous categories, I know of only one Blackfeet who approaches full-blood and who has written an industry-published book, though it was heavily edited and maybe at least partly dictated.  That would be Percy Bullchild’s “The Sun Comes Down.”

Woody Kipp, ready to Pow-Wow

Ranging backwards towards white, the next might be Woody Kipp, veteran, journalist, and professor (U of M and BCC).  His book is “Viet Cong at Wounded Knee.”

More recent than that is the young Sterling Holy White Mountain who reads from his work on YouTube.  He is included in Adrian Jawort’s “Off the Path,” an anthology.  Adrian is also a journalist but he is Crow.

Sterling on the left.  Adrian on the right.

But if one includes locally published books, mostly from the Browning Public Schools, there are several books produced by interviewing full-bloods like Tom Many Guns and Mary Ground.  “The Black Moccasin” is a compilation of columns from the local newspaper written by John Tatsey.  The original source of the movie called “Jimmy P.” is “Reality and Dream: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian” but was written by George Devereux, a French psychoanalyst, about a person given a “pseudonym” which was actually easy to recognize in Heart Butte.

James Welch, Jr. is identified as Blackfeet, but (I think) is in fact only enrolled there as was his father.  His mother was Gros Ventre and he usually spent summers with his maternal grandparents at Fort Belknap rather than Browning.  His paternal grandfather was Cherokee.

Adolf Hungry Wolf (on the right)

An interesting case is Adolf Hungry Wolf, a "voluntary" Blackfoot who chose his own pseudonym -- not a traditional family name on the rez.  For most of his life, he has lived as a 19^th century Indian with a Blackfoot full-blood wife from a well-known family called “Melting Tallow” for their historical practice of rendering fat out of buffalo bones after a buffalo “jump”.  He is highly educated and also an expert ceremonialist. He has produced a steady stream of books, the most impressive being four compendiums of historical photos and print, a virtual museum now managed by the Browning Public Schools.  

Anthropologists who have specialized in Blackfeet will be dealt with in another post.  The same with art.

Valentina LaPier and her work

Occupations develop different “kinds” of Indians, like cowboys, officers, teachers, shopkeepers, janitors -- each with their own skills and aptitutes.  Street Indians, hanging around drunk, sleeping along Willow Creek, singing and orating, have individual histories.  Some are able to give up the life.  In the Sixties everyone knew them by individual name and found them funny.  Now they have a sort of patronizing stigma mixed with pity.  The history of “pity” among the Blackfeet would be an interesting essay.  Many of the old prayers have the concept.

Several economic and political forces have created categories.  

The not-quite-enough quantum to be enrolled.  Half-sibs and cousins can be one-in, one-out.  It makes a big diff in terms of subsidies and Indian preference.  Different programs will set the quantum division in different places, one-half for this, one-quarter for the other, and so on.  Some people’s ancestors are unknown.  Or officially not Indian, though the genetic ancestor (under the blanket) was.  Unprovable.

Dawes Act land allotments.  The more full-blood and traditional people chose land close to the mountains for the sake of hunting and resisting white hegemony.  This meant they were still speaking Siksika and resisting English until late, therefore didn’t participate in politics.  The half-bloods (I like to say “double-bloods.”) tended to choose land out on the flats where they could raise grain and by having white fathers (the most usual pattern) know how to deal with banks, speak English, make state and federal connections and so on.  They tend to dominate the Tribal Council.  I have never understood the stigmatization of people on the “south” reservation, but Eloise Cobell was from that “side” so it must have some advantages.

Eloise Cobell -- light a candle

One recognizes families as having group traits.  I won’t mention negatives, but there is a complex of related people (Kipp, Upham, Hirst, Reevis, and a few others) who seem either genetically or through cultural influences to have an affinity for education and writing.

Ranching is a core occupation and rodeo is a natural outcome of that.  Recreation is a sort of offshoot as well.

Mouse Hall and his rodeo rough stock.  

Alcoholism, drugs, and trauma are so prevalent that many people have chosen to focus on operating rehabilitation programs.  This has had a real impact, many success stories.  Something like that is also true of lawyers.  There are several shadow networks less admirable.  (No lawyer jokes, please.)  One is gangs imported from cities or by immigration.  

Now I’m going to be lazy and append a list of the active businesses on the rez.  The three tourist towns up against Glacier National Park: East Glacier, St. Mary and Babb are seasonal.  Heart Butte is almost completely undeveloped and Starr School is barely considered a town.  There are little nodes of population all around the rez.  

Go to www.blackfeetcommerce.com for more info and contacts.  It's an impressive list, but I think they missed a few.

Business Name Organization Offers 2 and 89 Auto Parts                                     NAPA 3 Rivers Communications Telephone - Internet 3 Rivers Communications Radio Shack Support - Equipment Ad Graphics Graphic Design American Medical Oxygen Health Supplies Aspenwood Resort Rooms - Campground B and L Pumping Heating and Air Barnes Construction Services Construction Bill's Barber Shop Barber Shop Bison Creek Ranch Cabins -Restaurant Blackfeet Bottled Water Bottled Water Blackfeet Construction Supplies Lumber and Hardware Blackfeet Cree-ations Native Artwork Blackfeet Environmental Consulting Services Environmental Services Blackfeet Heritage Center and Art Gallery Native Crafts, Artwork Blackfeet Utility Commission Utility Pickup Blackfeet Video Video Rental Brownie's Hostel - Restaurant Browning Airport Air Services Browning Lumber and Trustworthy Hardware Lumber and Hardware Browning Video and Pawn Video Rental & Pawn Brown's Horse and Rider Education Center Horse Riding Education Burlington Northern-SantaFe Railroad Railroad Services Butler Income Taxes and; Accounting Accounting Services Cattle Baron Steak House Central Express Photo Photography Needs Charlie's Pizza Pub Eatery - Lounge Chewing Blackbones (on Montana 89) Campground Chief Mountain Junction Motel Circle R Motel Lodging - E. Glacier Park Colleen's Computer Corner, LLC Web Design - Data Entry Compton Signatures Acquisition , Consulting Continental Crown Construction/Development Construction & Devlpmt. Cut Bank Creek Outfitters Backpacking Guide Cut Bank Job Service Employment Needs D and D Welding and Contracting Welding , Contracting D and R Quick Fix Days Family Funeral Home Funeral Services Discount Depot Discount Merchandise Duck Lake Campground (on Route 464) Campground Duck Lake Lodge (on Route 464) Lodge - Restaurant Eagle Calf Technical Corporation Medical Supplies East Glacier Motel and Cabins Motel and Cabins Faught's Blackfeet Trading Post Clothing-Native Supplies Firebrand Pass Campground Restaurant - Campground Foster & Spotted Eagle Tribal Wake Center Wake Center Freedom Enterprise and Bail Bonding Bonding Service Galbreath Car Wash Car Wash Glacier Electric Co-op, Inc. Electric Cooperative Glacier Laundry Laundromat Glacier Park, Inc. Lodging - Red Bus Tours Glacier Peaks Casino 400+ Class II Hot Slots Glacier Reporter Newspaper Glacier Restaurant Restaurant Glacier Studio Photography & Gifts Glacier Trailhead Cabins Cabins Glacier Way C-Store Convenience Store Grass Winds Veterinary Clinic Veterinarian Great Divide Outfitters Backpacking Guide Gustafson, Barr Veterinarian Han-N-Nails Salon Nails H and R Block Tax Preparation Hair Styles Beauty Salon Beauty Salon Hot Stuff Pizza at P and M Pizza Delivery Hoyt's Towing and Wrecker Service Towing and Body Work Ick's Place Lounge Indian Country Environmental Associates Services  Consulting IRI Propane Propane Services Jacobson's Cottages Cabins Johnny's Supper Club Lounge Johnson's of St. Mary Restaurant - Campground Junction Cafe and Drive Inn Restaurant Ken Paul Construction Construction Services Kiowa Resort Lodging - Food Kipp Builder Service Construction Services Leaning Tree Cafe Restaurant Lodgepole Gallery Tipi Village Art Gallery-Bed and Brkfst Mane Event Beauty Salon Meriwether Meadows Campground Milk River Outfitters Backcountry Outfitter Morning Star Troutfitters Fly Fishing Guide Montana Old West Outfitters Backcountry Outfitter Mountain Pine Motel Motel Moyers Apartments Apartments MR Bailbonds Bailbonds Museum of the Plains Indian Artist Assoc. Artist Association Nation's Security Security Systems Native American Bank Bank - ATM Nevins Tire Centre Automotive Repair-Tires Northern High Plains Outfitters Backpacking Guide Northern Native Insurance Insurance Northern Native Outfitters Outfitter - Guide Oki Communications, LLC Wireless Internet Old North Trail Campground Campground Pikuni Gift Shop Blackfeet Artist Creations Porter's Alpine Motel Motel Red Eagle Campground Campground Red Eagle Motel Motel Rising Wolf Ranch Guest Ranch Sears Motel and Gift Shop Motel Seranno's Backpacker's Inn Cabins - Restaurant Shear Shack Beauty Salon Sinclair Glass and Auto Glass Installation Siyeh Corporation Blackfeet Enterprises Sleeping Wolf Campground Campground Smiley's RV Park Self Contained RV Park Specialty Cakes Cakes by Order St. Mary-East Glacier Park KOA KOA Campground StarLink Cable Cable TV Subway Sandwiches and Salads Subway Summit Station Lodge Cabins - Restaurant - Bar Taco Johns Mexican Food Teeples IGA Grocery - Deli The Hut Restaurant The Resort at Glacier-St. Mary Lodge Lodging - Restaurant Thomas Autos Used Cars Three Forks Campground Tent - RV Sites Thronson's General Store and Motel Store - Motel Town Pump Food Stores Gasoline - Food Trails End Concrete, LLC Topsoil, Gravel and Sand Trimarc All Tow Towing - Fuel & Service Triple P Septic Service Septic Service Two Medicine Grill Restaurant Two Medicine Sign Shop Quality Signs Two Sisters Cafe Cafe Walter Construction Construction Western Curios Souvenirs and Gifts Western Motel Motel Whistling Swan Motel Motel Wrangler's West Real Estate Real Estate Y Lazy R Campground Campground - RV Park