Chiefs of the Blackfoot Nation
As a child growing up in Butte, Montana, I remember friends & neighbors commenting : " Gertrude (my grandmother) certainly does show her Indian features !". Well, at that time I had NO idea what an Indian feature was, but I asked,
"Mom, is Grandma an Indian ?"
"Yes, we think she has some Indian blood."
"Was Grandma's mother full Indian?"
"No, she was not."
"What tribe is she related to?"
"Sorry, son, we just do not know."
Just last year (2000) while attending a family reunion in Wichita, Kansas a cousin (whom I had not previously met) asked, "Have you found the Indian connection yet ?" The same family story from yet another branch !
After discussion, Bill and I agreed that most likely the connection may be found on the 'Gordon' side as not much is known of them. So if you know anyone with the surname 'Gordon', pass the URL for this page on to them, please.
During the mid 1940's (grade school years) I remember my Mom asking :
"Would you like to see some pictures of real indians ?"
"You must sit at the table and be VERY careful with them."
"Yes, Mom, I promise."
She would then go to the bedroom, bottom drawer in the closet, under other stuff, and retrieve this folder of photos. I looked at them many times during those years. Later in life after I moved away from the old home, I forgot about those pictures ... until it was to late to ask questions.
I may never have the answer to queries like:
Where and when did Mom get these photos?
Why were they kept hidden away and not out for all to see?
Why did they have special meaning for her?
The moral of this tale is: If you have family stories, no matter how trivial you may think they are, TELL them to your children and grandchildren. Tell them again and again so they will be remembered. And also, document the stories in a computer genealogy program for all future generations.
I hope you enjoy viewing the old hand-colored photographs. I could find no publisher information or date or copyright info on the folder. All photographs are by 'William Bull'. Unfortunately I have no written history on any of these men, just the pictures. That need be a later project.
Remember, these were real people, NOT Hollywood drugstore Indians.
Navigation links are provided on each photo page.
Chief Two Guns White Calf
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| Chief Curly Bear |
| Chief Eagle Calf |
| Chief Many Tail Feathers |
| Chief Big Spring |
| Chief White Dog |
| Chief Eagle Ribs |
| Chief Bird Rattler |
| Chief Lazy Boy |
| Chief Bull Calf |
| Chief Eagle Child |
| Chief Wades-in-the-Water |
He was head of the Associated Press when the photo was taken in the 1940s at Glacier National Park in North-Western Montana. The Chiefs, I understand, were part of an American Indian exhibit at the park back then.
To preserve detail the photo presented is fairly large in size, 556 X 432 pixels at 86 KB,
so allow a few minutes to complete the download.
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Chiefs group photo
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Page created: Dec. 11, 2000 and modified: Sep. 10, 2008