Braiding Western Science and Blackfoot Worldviews: An Investigation into Manifestations of Food Stress from 1790-1890
Date
2023-12-19
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Abstract
During the Protocontact (1730-1830) and Contact (1830-Present) Periods, the traditional diets of Indigenous peoples on the Plains were greatly altered. Bison populations began to decline sharply during this time, as a result of over exploitation by the commercial hide trade. By the late 19th century, the bison populations were in sharp decline, and Indigenous peoples on the Plains were relocated onto newly established reserves where they were forced to rely on government administered rations. Both factors greatly impacted food availability for Indigenous peoples. This research examines manifestations of food stress among the Blackfoot people using multiple lines of evidence. These lines of evidence include archaeological faunal assemblages from two stone circles at the Antelope Hill Tipi Ring Site (EbPi-75), ethnographic accounts, Blackfoot winter counts, and Blackfoot oral traditions. The goal of this research is to combine Western scientific approaches in the form of archaeological analyses and the examination of ethnographic and ethnohistoric documents with Blackfoot oral traditions. This results in a more holistic understanding of the changes occurring to traditional diets during the Protocontact and Contact Periods. The assemblage in Stone Circle 1 and 4 is highly fragmented. Explanations for this and other patterns in the assemblage include grease rendering activities, meat butchering and marrow extraction or tipi cleaning behaviours, all of which may have been occurring simultaneously. Ultimately, it was found that evidence of food stress is limited in Stone Circle 1 and 4 and in Blackfoot oral traditions, while the ethnographic and historic accounts contain strong evidence for food stress, demonstrating a difference in perspective from the ethnographer to the perspective in Blackfoot oral tradition.
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Keywords
Food stress, Protocontact Period, Contact Period, Blackfoot people, Ethnographies, Blackfoot winter count, Bison, Southern Alberta, Plains, Faunal analysis
Citation
Lazette, L. D. (2023). Braiding Western science and Blackfoot worldviews: an investigation into manifestations of food stress from 1790-1890 (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.