Hunting Techniques & Weapons

What They Hunted - The Blackfoot Indians hunted many different animals, depending on the time of year. They hunted deer, elk, moose, mountain sheep, quail, jack rabbits and antelope. In the spring they would hunt bear along the rivers. But the buffalo was their biggest and best food source. In the spring they moved along the plains tracking the buffalo for the rest of the year. They never wasted any of the animal they killed. The Blackfoot Indians considered fish taboo, so they never did any fishing at all.


Weapons - The Blackfoot Indians used spears, tomahawks, bow and arrows, the war club, and the dagger. The tomahawk and the dagger were used for hunting and fights. But the war club was used just for wars. The bow and arrow were used mostly for hunting buffalo. The Blackfoot would ride up very close on their horses and shoot an arrow into the buffalo. If the arrow was still sticking out the side of the buffalo, the rider would grab the arrow and fire it at the buffalo again. Lots of times the arrow would get shot right through the buffalo and stick in the ground on the other side.


Hunting Techniques - When the Blackfoot tribe set out for a hunt, everyone was included. The Blackfoot Indians set up their tipis in a circle so the warriors could meet in the middle to organize a hunt. At sunrise they moved their whole village to the place where they wanted to hunt. As they moved, men kept their arms free in case of a surprise attack. When the buffalo came through, the hunters would circle around the buffalo forcing them to an enclosure where they were easily shot and killed. The hunters would also wear fox disguises and sneak up behind a herd of buffalo with their bow and arrows and shoot the buffalo.

Another technique was that the hunters would train their horses really well and they would run up to the right side of the buffalo and shoot them. Then they would go after another buffalo. The last technique was when the hunters would run the buffalo off a steep hill. The buffalo would go crashing down and they would break legs. Then the hunters would run down and shoot the buffalo until they were all dead.