Homes and Transportation

Our Traditional Homes

Niitoiyiss: teepee lodge for Nitsitapi People

Moiiyiss: refers to any lodge

There are protocols one must observe in the teepee lodge. There Is protocol in the seating order inside the lodge. The family and visitors sat on their bedding on the ground. The lodge owners and grandparents sat at the head of the lodge on the west end of the lodge and opposite the door at the east entrance. The family and visitors sat around in a circle. The lodge accommodate a sleeping area, cooking area and a storage area. The sleeping area was divided by back rests which were also used to hang personal belongs and to lean against. The backrests were made of willow sticks put together with sinew and decorated with coloured clothes, beads, leather straps.

To set up a teepee lodge, it requires teepee poles, pegs and buttons. In contemporary lodges, curtains are hung around the lodge for additional warmth in the winter and to keep cool in the summer. The campfire is at the center inside of the lodge and the bedding and resting area surround the campfire. The cooking area is usually located beside the east entrance. It is very pleasant and comforting to sleep in the teepee lodge. One could see the stars in the night skies if the teepee ears are open. The smoke rises out of the opening at the top of the lodge.

The Blackfoot People lived in a collective group. To be able to live and survive the harsh environment of the land, it required a highly skilled society. Each member had roles and responsibilities to attain their basic necessities: food, housing, clothing. The lodge required, at the minimum, 16 hides to fully cover it. The men were responsible for hunting the buffalo to obtain the hides for the lodge. The women were responsible for tanning the hides and sewing them together to make the lodge. It requires highly skilled individuals to make a lodge. They also had to make sure they had enough food to last through the winter. Every part of the buffalo was used as food, tools, shelter, clothing, and footwear.

Teepee frame near Standoff

Top of teepee frame

Setting up Camp near Standoff

Rear view of set up lodge near Standoff

Inside the Teepee Lodge

Sundance Camp

Our Homes Today

Napioyiss: white man’s house

Sopatsis ki Iitaisoyoap’a: chair and table

Asoopop: seating up

Innisopatsis: long chair (describes couch or sofa)

Kot’tsii sopatsis: stuffed chair (describes the stuffing of the chair)

Ik’kinisopatsis: very soft chair (describes the softness of the chair)

Aisaiksit’to: television (describes a person came into view)

When the television was first introduced to the household, the owners moved the antenna around until they caught a signal. There was only 3 channels and the picture was in black and white.

Ihtaipiiyohtsimoap: radio (describes, we hear news from afar) The radio was introduced during the war for the people to hear the news about what was happening in war.

Ihtaipoyoap’a: telephone (describes, we talk with it).

When the telephone introduced, they had party lines. Depending, there was usually 3 households that had access to one line, so they had to take turns talking on the phone. There was a lot of eaves dropping going on.

With the introduction of a new way of life after the signing of Treaty 7, the Blackfoot People were encouraged to live in Napioyiss, white man’s house, to live like them. There is no Blackfoot words to describe the new ideas and lifestyles, house and furniture. New Blackfoot words had to be created to describe the furniture, walls, ceiling, floor, rooms, windows, and more.