About this ebook
For over a century, the Blackfeet controlled a territory larger than many European nations — from the Saskatchewan River to the Yellowstone, from the Rockies eastward across the buffalo plains. They were the power other tribes feared and white explorers learned to respect.
Then, in less than a single lifetime, everything changed.
This is the complete account of the Blackfeet people: their origins on the northern plains, their dominance in the 1700s and 1800s, their near-destruction, and their survival into the modern era. Drawing on the journals of Lewis and Clark, David Thompson's firsthand observations, George Catlin's eyewitness accounts, and the oral histories of Blackfeet elders, this is a thoroughly researched narrative spanning ancient times to the present day.
You'll witness the smallpox epidemic of 1837–38 that killed nearly half their population. You'll read the harrowing details of the Marias Massacre of 1870. You'll understand how the disappearance of the buffalo destroyed a way of life centuries in the making.
But this is not only a story of loss. It is a story of remarkable resilience — through the Starvation Winter of 1883–84, two world wars, and the allotment era that stripped away millions of acres. Today, their language is being taught to new generations. Their ceremonies continue. Their sovereignty endures.
This book is for readers of Native American history, Montana history, and anyone who appreciates a well-told story of courage and survival.
The Blackfeet were warriors. They still are.
