Blackfoot Indians Montana


While it is clear this town took its name from the Blackfeet Indians, it is not so clear where the tribe got its name. One story has the name coming from the legend of the Sun telling an old man in a vision to paint the feet of the eldest with black medicine which Sun provided. 

Doing so gave the old man’s sons power to catch the buffalo. The old man then decreed that his descendants should be called Blackfeet.

In another legend, the Blackfeet were named so because their mocassins became blackened when they crossed the burnt prairies. The name in their language is Siksiksa which literally translates to “Blackfoot.” However, the constitution under which their tribal council was formed translates to “Blackfeet.”


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