The stories and traditions held by any culture throughout any period of time provide an unique insight as to what those people value, and how they want their societies to run. What types of traditions build up a people’s mythological corpus are vital to discerning deeper truths about those people. Many of the stories people chose to pass down from generation to generation come attached to moral lessons that help shape how children view everything from adversity, to their relationship with the world they live in; the same holds true with the Oral Traditions of First Nations peoples. The Oral Traditions that have been passed on through the generations hold valuable lessons about the people and what matters to them. For this project, I decided to research the Oral Traditions of the Blackfoot people. I wanted to find out what could be learned about a people through a close examination of their traditions and how those lessons could be used to foster more positive relations among the Blackfoot Nation, and the settler colonial state. For my research, I chose three of the Blackfoot’s Oral Traditions and analyzed them.
The first tradition I chose was the story of “Napi and the Rock”; this story was used by the Blackfoot people, to explain the presence of the glacial erratics throughout the prairies. As the story goes, Napi is walking through the prairies wearing a big buffalo skin robe, when the robe gets too heavy he decides to gift it to The Big Rock (Hodges, 1). After Napi gives his robe to The Rock, the weather turns cold, so Napi steals back his robes from the Rock (Hodges, 1). The rock is, of course, angered by Napi’s actions so he chases Napi across the prairies; the swallows help Napi by pecking at the rock and breaking off little pieces until the rock finally splits in two (Hodges, 1). The Big Rock in this story is the famous Okotoks Rock, which can still be found in Okotoks Alberta.
The story of “Napi and the Rock” serves many purposes. First, it explains something in the natural world that, at the time, would have had no explanation. This is very common in myths and legends, many of them are an attempt to explain something that has no explanation; an example of this is how the Ancient Greeks attributed lightning to Zeus. This story, though, offers more than an explanation to the Okotoks Rock, it also has deeper cultural connotations. The Blackfoot have many traditions featuring Napi; he is one of the most prominent figures in their teachings. In addition to Napi, he is sometimes referred to as the “Old Man”, or the “Trickster”. The fact that Napi is often thought of as a trickster, shows a cultural appreciation for cunning, and mischief. Many First Nations Traditions have a trickster figure; these show a wider range of acknowledgment or for cunning and deviance and how such actions can be beneficial to a society.
In addition to Napi’s actions, the Tradition also shows the reaction of The Rock. The Rock is angered, rightfully so, by Napi going back on his word. The interactions between The Rock and Napi in this Tradition remind me of the relationship between First Nations peoples and Settler Colonialist. Okotoks, the final location of The Big Rock, is in Treaty Seven territory. The way the Canadian Government treated First Nations Peoples in the negotiations of these treaties is very similar to Napi’s treatment of The Rock. Words were said in an exchange, presumably between equals, but when the terms no longer suited one party that party went back on their word. The treatment of First Nations peoples in Canada is, of course, not the same as Napi stealing back his robes, but the metaphor still stands. The themes of betrayal depicted here have many parallels with the treatments of First Nations peoples since the first Europeans arrived in the Americas in the late fifteenth century.
Another Blackfoot Tradition I looked into was the Blackfoot Creation Legend. The legend tells how Napi created various creatures including humans (Firstpeople). It shows Napi creating people from mud. He uses the earth to create the people, showing a deep connection between the people and their land. This Tradition shows a deep relationship with the Blackfoot people and their land. Many settlers lack this respect for land and view themselves as removed from the earth as opposed to a part of it. This legend also shows humans as related to the other animals on the earth. Before Napi creates the humans the is shown creating the bighorn sheep, showing a kinship between the people and the animals with whom they share the land.
The final tradition I looked at was “Napi and the Old Woman”; the legend explained the origins of death. In the story the Old Woman decides that people must die, and remain dead to foster sympathy among people (Obctracker). This legend shows that the Blackfoot people value life. The implications of this Traditions are that the Old Woman decided people should die to discourage murder; so that people wold value the lives of other people.
All three legends show a deep connection between the people and their surroundings. There is a strong emphasis on respect for all things, living and non-living. These Traditions show connections between the people and the land, and teach that all things from the rock, to the animals, to fellow human, must all be granted an equal amount of respect.
Works Cited
Firstpeople.us Native American Legends Blackfoot Creation Story. http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Blackfoot-Creation-Story-Blackfoot.html Accessed April 1, 2017
Hodges Humble, Laurie. The Legend of Napi and the Rock http://www.olsn.ca/fnplw/content/2015/The_Legend_of_Napi_and_the_Rock.pdf Accessed April 2, 2017
Ocbtracker.com Old Man and Old Woman. http://www.ocbtracker.com/ladypixel/oldman.html Accessed April 3, 2017