Plains Indian Studies - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

100 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY
came forward separately, each being recognized
as a distinct band. The Followers of the Buffalo
were recorded as having 118 followers, the All
Short People 210 followers, Marrows 107, and All
Tall People 167. Altogether they had 602 people
but they were listed under five chiefs.
Red Crow would not permit his followers to
become fractionalized. Probably with the consent
of his offshoot band chiefs, he appeared as the
sole leader of the Fish Eaters, Six Mouths, Shooting
Up, and Many Brown Weasels, totaling 304
persons, while his fellow "head" chief. Rainy
Chief, appeared with his 51 members of the Hairy
Shirts. Then, after the payments had been made.
Red Crow pointed out that there were a number
of men who should sign the treaty, but who had
no bands. Obligingly, the commissioners permitted
One Spot, White Striped Dog, and Moon, the
chiefs of the three offshoot bands, to sign and be
appointed treaty chiefs.
In these deft series of moves, the Fish Eaters
and their supporters ended up with a full complement
of chiefs but Red Crow gave the appearance
of leading the largest single band in the
tribe. With these kinds of statistics on the paysheets.
Red Crow's position as primary head chief
was henceforth unquestioned by government authorities,
and the Fish Eaters remained the dominant
group until the decline of the band system.
The practice of giving distinctive names to the
various bands was not unique to the Bloods. It
was popular among a number of other tribes,
including the adjacent Blackfoot, Piegan, Sarcee,
Gros Ventre, and Crow tribes. In most instances,
the names were unique, coined as the result of an
incident or characteristic. The only name that
appeared to have common usage was Lone
Fighters, which also existed among the Piegans
and Gros Ventres. A distinctive feature of the
Bloods was a tendency to name bands after the
physical appearance of its members, i.e., All Black
Faces, All Short People, All Tall People. None of
the other tribes of the Blackfoot nation followed
this practice.
There are traditions explaining the origin of
most band names with the notable exception of
the Followers of the Buffalo. All informants
agreed that the name was "very old" and if it had
been coined as the result of some event or incident,
this had been forgotten. It adds support to
the supposition that this band was the most ancient
in the tribe and may even have been the
core group from which all others had originated.
The Fish Eaters' name was derived from an
incident that occurred when the group had wintered
on the Highwood River. When spring
storms prevented them from reaching the buffalo
on the plains, they were forced to subsist on fish,
even though the Blackfoot tribes abhored this
form of food. Informants who were members of
the band considered the name to be a tribute to
the band's survival, but others believed it to be
derogatory, similar to the Gopher Eaters of the
Piegan (Many Guns, 1954, pers. comm.) and the
Filth Eaters of the Crow (Lowie, 1917:53).
The three bands named after the physical appearance
of its members (All Short People, All
Tall People, and All Black Faces) were offshoots
of the Followers of the Buffalo. The terms apparently
were appropriate; Bull Back Fat, the primary
leader of the All Short People, was a particularly
small man, as was his brother. Little
Ears, who took over in 1892. A descendent described
Bull Back Fat as "the smallest of the
chiefs, but he was tough and well known as a
warrior" (John Cotton, 1954, pers. comm.).
Similarly, the All Tall People were named for
their physical stature, with one informant stating
that even the women were taller than average.
This group was led by two brothers. Eagle Shoe
and Morning Writing.
The All Black Faces were named because their
leader. Morning Chief, had an exceptionally dark
complexion. An offshoot of the All Short People,
it was never close to the parent Followers of the
Buffalo, and in 1880, when the members were
moving to the reservation, its new leader. Day
Chief, allied his band with the Fish Eaters. This
action was rewarded eight years later when he
was appointed head chief of the tribe on the
recommendation of Red Crow.
Two other bands whose titles related to a phys-