One day Napi was out on the Plains and became hungry and pleaded to the Great Spirit to help him and give him something to eat. The Great Spirit heard his prayers and said " Alright Napi, mound up the dirt as big as you can eat".

Napi started mounding up the dirt and the more he worked the hungrier he got, until he had a big mound and was tired out as he wasn't used to working so hard for something to eat, as the Creator usually fed him when he asked.

The Creator said " I see you have become greedy with me helping you too much so I will make the mound of dirt something you can eat, but you will have to learn to kill it", with that the Great Spirit turned the big mound of dirt into a Buffalo which charged Napi and he started running, more in fear of his life than thinking how to kill it, he ran across the plains, the Buffalo close behind him. Finally he saw a tree and thought if I can make it to the tree I can get away from this beast and then plan how to kill it.

As he neared the tree he saw a big branch sticking out, low enough for him to reach but high enough to get away from the Buffalo. He was running as hard as he could and the Buffalo was gaining on him, just as he reached the tree and swung up the Buffalo ran under him and disappeared. After he got over his fright and came down from the tree he found that the tree was on the edge of a cliff and the Buffalo has ran off it and was laying at the bottom.

The Great Spirit spoke to him and said "Now Napi your greed almost got you hurt but I will give you another chance, I will put Buffalo on the Plains if you share your kills with your brothers the meat eaters and your people". Which he did and showed the people how to use the Buffalo Jump. One is at Two Medicine River, another on Milk River as well as many others all over the Blackfoot Hunting Grounds.

Napi (Old Man) of the Blackfoot is the equivalent of Iktomni, the trickster, of the Sioux, as is Old Man Coyote of the Crow.

---

Indians Misc. A Pack of Wolves - American Buffalo - American Indian Names - Bear Hunting - Braided Hairstyles - Brown Bear - Buffalo Meat - Canoes - Canoe Building - Chief Crazy Horse - Chief Joseph - Chief Pontiac - Chief Seattle - Corn - Corn Bread - Coyote Facts - Coyote Fur - Crazy Horse - Crazy Horse Monument - Dances with Wolves - Drum Beats - Feathers - Fur Traders - Grizzly Bear - Horse Breeding - Horse Tattoo - How to Braid Hair - Indian Chief - Indian Fashion - Indian Feathers - Indian Food - Indian Food Recipes - Indian Grants - Indians Home - Indian Music - Indian Recipes - Indian Reservations - Indian Reservations 2 - Indian Songs - Indian Tattoos - Indian Women - Indigenous Peoples' Literature - Iroquois Longhouse - Longhouses - Palomino Horses - Planting Zones - Powwow - Timber Wolves - Tribal Dance - Tribal Music - Tribal Tattoos - Tribal Tattoo Designs - Rain Dance - Smoke Signals - Spear Fishing - Spirit Bear - Squaw - Thanksgiving - Welker's Bookmarks - White Buffalo - Wild Horses - Wild Wolves Indian Products American Indian Art - American Indian Jewelry - American Indian Pottery - Arrowheads - Baby Papoose - Beads - Bead Bracelet - Bead Jewelry - Bead Necklace - Bead Supplies - Black Hills Gold Jewelry - Bone Beads - Bow and Arrows - Braids - Braided Rugs - Buffalo Jerky - Buffalo Steak - Handmade Moccasins - Horse Blankets - Indian Art - Indian Artifacts - Indian Bridal Wear - Indian Clothes - Indian Dresses - Indian Drums - Indian Flag - Indian Flute - Indian Headdress - Indian Headress - Indian Jewelry - Indian Jewelry 2 - Indian Masks - Indian Motorcycles - Indian Movies - Indian Rugs - Indian Tepee - Indian Weapons - Indian Wedding Dresses - Native Flutes - Navajo Jewelry - Sterling Silver Jewelry - Teepees - Throwing Knives - Totem Poles - Tribal Decals - Turquoise - Turquoise Jewelry Indian Tribes American Indians - Anasazi Indians - Apache Indians - Apache Indian - Apache Tribes - Aztec Indians - Blackfoot Indians - Blackfoot Indian Tribe - Cherokee Indians - Cherokee Indian - Cherokee Tribes - Cheyenne Indians - Cheyenne Tribe - Choctaw Indians - Chumash Indians - Comanche Indians - Cree Indians - Creek Indians - Crow Indians - Hopi Indians - Iroquois Indians - Lakota Indians - Maya Indians - Mayan Indians - Mohawk Indians - Navajo Indians - Nez Perce Indians - Northwest Coast Indians - Paleo Indians - Pawnee Indians - Pueblo Indians - Plains Indians - Potawatomi Indians - Seminole Indians - Shawnee Indians - Sioux Indians - Sioux Indian Tribe - Sioux Tribe - Southwest Indians - The Mohawk Tribe - Wampanoag Indians Native American Native American Native Americans Native American Ancestry Native American Art Native American Artifacts Native American Artists Native American Art Gallery Native American Beadwork Native American Blankets Native American Books Native American Bracelets Native American Ceramics Native American Clothes Native American Clothing Native American Coins Native American Crafts Native American Culture Native American Dance Native American Dating Native American Demographics Native American DNA Native American Dolls Native American Drawings Native American Drums Native American Earrings Native American Figurines Native American Films Native American Flute Native American Food Native American Games Native American Genealogy Native American Genetics Native American Gifts Native American Gifts 2 Native American Headdress Native American Healing Native American Heritage Month Native American History Native American Indians Native American Indian Jewelry Native American Jewelry Native American Jewelry 2 Native American Law Native American Life Native American Market Native American Medicine Native American Medicine Wheel Native American Moccasins Native American Money Native American Month Native American Music Native American Names Native American Navajo Native American Necklace Native American Paintings Native American Peace Pipe Native American Poetry Native American Portraits Native American Pottery Native American Pow Wow Native American Products Native American Rattles Native American Rights Native American Rings Native American Rugs Native American Sand Painting Native American Sculptures Native American Spears Native American Spirituality Native American Stories Native American Tattoos Native American Tattoos Native American Tomahawks Native American Totem Pole Native American Totem Poles Native American Tribe Native American Tribes Native American Tribes 2 Native American Videos Native American Wolf Native American Words Native American Women Northwest Native American Art

Begin Your journey, learn the Steps to
Your Indian Ancestry
Beginners Lesson in Genealogy

Indians.org Home | Indigenous Peoples' Literature Index Page

The Tribal Directory

---

The Indigenous Peoples' Literature pages were researched and organized by Glenn Welker.