ABSTRACT
My chief goal in this book is to provide a thorough examination of the ontological and ultimately religious consequences for Blackfoot medicine bundles, and for the Blackfoot Peoples, of their being exchanged, interpreted, and treated as either “commodities” or “gifts.” Much of this examination is ethnographic, since I am concerned with presenting the views that traditional Blackfeet have of their bundles. I show that traditionalists interpret and treat their medicine bundles as gifts, prioritizing and respecting what they regard as the living, personal qualities of the bundles. I am also concerned with showing that, when bundles are interpeted and treated as commodities by cultural outsiders, these same qualities are ignored, and the vitality recognized in bundles by the Blackfeet is impacted negatively. This, in turn, impacts the very vitality of traditional Blackfoot religious culture.
