The inspiration for this poem comes from an essay written by William E. Farr, “Troubled Bundles, Troubled Blackfeet:  The Travail of Cultural and Religious Renewal.”  This essay is part of a larger collection of writings that link Montana’s past with its future in the book, MONTANA LEGACY.

Facing an uncertain world

Life asking questions of “when”

Intertribal wars threaten

Hostile danger setting in

 

Preserving Blackfeet culture

Each passing generation

Saving sacred heritage

Hold for next generation

 

Ritual artifacts cache

Spiritual lives won’t rest

Supernatural visions

Medicine dreams will attest

 

Honoring warrior life

Holy treasures speaking out

Collected and safeguarded

Sacred bundles carry clout

 

Filling with key elements

Common and natural sought

Feathers, hides, shells, horns added

Teeth, wood, bones . . . each with a thought

 

Passing on these rituals

Mother Earth, Creative Sun

Guarding life’s sacred relics

Legacy, father to son