The Old North Trail: Life, Legends, and Religion of the

The Old North Trail: Life, Legends, and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians

â€œA valuable reference on Blackfeet customs and mythology.â€ â€” Journal of the West

When Walter McClintock first became acquainted with the Blackfeet Native Americans in the late nineteenth century he realised that their way of life was under threat.

The young were disinterested in preserving the old ways of life and he realised that without a written language of their own, the culture, religion and folk-lore of the Blackfeet would soon fall into oblivion.

â€œWhen I discovered that I could obtain the unbosoming of their secrets and that the door was open to me for study and investigation, I resolved that I would do my best to preserve all the knowledge available.â€

The Old North Trail: Life, Legends, and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians is the fruit of that study and investigation.

McClintock was able to gain unprecedented access to Blackfoot culture due to the fact that he became adopted by Chief Mad Dog, the high priest of the Sun Dance, and spent four years living on the Blackfoot Reservation.

â€œAn intriguing . . . mixture of stories, legends, and descriptions of religious rituals, all woven into [McClintockâ€™s] own personal account of his life with the Blackfeet. He tells of being inducted into the tribe, participating in family ceremonies, and living with his adoptive family. . . . Other times McClintock takes a serious anthropological approach as he describes the social customs of the tribe, including many of their songs, and catalogs the names, uses, and preparations of various herbs and medicinal plants. [The Old North Trail] has much more personal detail about Blackfoot daily life than can be found in any other sources from that period.â€ â€” Natural History

Walter McClintock was born in Pittsburgh in 1879. He spent much of his life studying the Blackfeet Native Americans and wrote a number of anthropological books on his time with them as he grew to learn about their religion and culture. The Old North Trail is perhaps his most famous work, it was first published in 1910. McClintock eventually passed away in 1949.
Country USA
Manufacturer Anthocarp Press
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2016-10-02
Format Kindle eBook

The Old North Trail: Life, Legends, and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians

â€œA valuable reference on Blackfeet customs and mythology.â€ â€” Journal of the West

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Country	USA
Manufacturer	Anthocarp Press
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2016-10-02
Format	Kindle eBook

The Old North Trail: Life, Legends, and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians

â€œA valuable reference on Blackfeet customs and mythology.â€ â€” Journal of the West

You might also like...

â€œA valuable reference on Blackfeet customs and mythology.â€ â€” Journal of the West