ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 707 
climbing the sacrificial pole with the face reverently turned toward the 
sun, placed the offering on the top of the pole. This year seven or eight 
persons went through the above ceremony. The other sacrificial cere- 
mony consisted of the slitting of the flesh in two pieces in each breast. 
A wooden skewer was placed through each breast; a rope fastened to 
the sacrificial pole was placed around each skewer; and then the sup- 
pliant, whistling upon the bone-whistle, jumped about until the flesh 
gave way. In some instances the flesh was cut so deeply that the men 
had to press heavily upon the performers’ shoulders in order to tear it 
_ away. The “shield ceremony ” was the same process, only performed on 
the back, and the rope with a shield attached fastened to the skewers, 
and the ceremony continued until the suppliant was relieved.’ 
: Mr. Riggs, it will be noticed, says that the ceremony was most 
zealously performed among the most westerly of the Dakota tribes, that 
is, those which are nearest to the Rocky Mountains. We are thus led to 
_ suppose that it may have had its origin among the tribes west of the 
mountains. Possibly the Blackfeet may have learned it from the tribe 
from which they acquired the foreign element of their language, and 
they may have taught it to the western Dakotas and Crees in their neigh- 
bourhood. In any case it is clear that they have a mixed religion, as 
well as a mixed language—which are both facts of considerable interest 
in ethnological science. 
The form of government among the Blackfeet, as among the Algonkin 
tribes generally, is exceedingly simple, offering a striking contrast to the 
elaborately complicated systems common among the nations of the 
Troquois stock. Each tribe has a head-chief, and each band of which the 
tribe is composed has its subordinate chief; but the authority of these 
chiefs is little more than nominal. The office is not hereditary. The 
bravest or richest are commonly chosen; but in what manner the 
election is made is not stated. Formerly the principal function of the 
head-chief consisted in deciding on the question of peace or war. At 
present it is limited to fixing the place of the camp, or directing a change 
of encampment. He presides in the council of his tribe, and is, in a 
conference with other nations, the representative and spokesman of his 
people. 
The term ‘ confederacy ’ commonly applied to the union of the Black- 
foot tribes is somewhat misleading. There is no regular league or 
constitution binding them together. ‘ The tribes are separate,’ writes Mr. 
McLean, ‘and the bonds of union are the unity of religious belief, social 
‘customs, and language. They united against a common enemy, but I 
have never heard of their fighting against each other.’ Father Lacombe’s 
_ account is similar. ‘The Blackfeet,’ he writes, ‘have no league or con- 
federation, properly so called, with councils and periodical reunions. 
_ They consider themselves as forming one family, whose three branches or 
_ bands are descended from three brothers. This bond of kinship is suf- 
ficient to preserve a good understanding among them.’ They can hardly 
be said to have a general name for the whole community, though they 
Sometimes speak of themselves as Sawketakiz, or ‘men of the plains,’ and 
occasionally as Netsepoyé, ‘ or people who speak one language.’ 
Whether the system of clans, gentes, or totems, as they are variously 
styled by different writers, is found among the Blackfoot tribes is 
uncertain, the replies to inquiries on that subject being thus far some- 
what indefinite. This system is regarded by some eminent ethnologists 
ZZ2 
Pe a eee 
5 
