The Social Life of the Blackfoot Indians

An anthropological account of Blackfoot social life that surveys kinship and band organization, courtship and marriage customs (including the mother-in-law taboo and divorce settlements), and the terminology that structures relationships. The study examines property rights, division of labor, and life‑cycle rituals such as birth, menstruation, child care, death, and mourning, and it details ceremonial practice, war records and pictographic heraldry, systems of reckoning time, oaths, and everyday etiquette. Leisure activities receive attention through descriptions of gambling and several traditional games. The text is supplemented by illustrations, diagrams of recording methods, and a bibliography.