Tuesday, May 19, 2015

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 19th 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


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just found out what that Neil Diamond song "Cracklin' Rosie" was all about. Used to be a song that made me happy. Now I hear it today and I wept.

The real story of the Neil Diamond hit "Crackling Rosie" that "store-bought woman": http://genius.com/Neil-diamond-cracklin-rosie-lyrics

Anonymous said...

Hi there.
Wondering if you personally knew Percy Bullchild?
He's my great uncle.

Mary Strachan Scriver said...

Alas, I never knew Percy Bullchild. But I knew many of his descendants and, of course, I have his book.
Prairie Mary