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
Originally published November, 2020.
Big Sky Buckeye 
It’s easy to forget how many tribes lived in North America. The Blackfeet are one I’ve heard of, but only as a mention; in the midwest, and in Texas, the Sioux, Apache, Karankawa, and others are far more familiar. The passing on of ritual objects is interesting, and makes sense. It reminds me of our own tendency to cherish old family objects like the breadboard that hangs in my kitchen; it was brought from Sweden by my grandmother, who came here by ship in the late 1800s.
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Great reminder that we are all leaving a legacy of some kind for someone.
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