SANDSTONE
Algonquian
Blackfoot.
use.
Another sacred object is the medicine rock of the Marias. It is a huge boulder of reddish
sandstone, two-thirds the way up a steep hill on the north bank of the Marias River,
about five miles from Fort Conrad. Formerly, this rock rested on the top of the bluff, but,
as the soil about it is worn away by the wind and the rain, it is slowly moving down the
hill. The Indians believe it to be alive, and make presents to it. When I first visited it, the
ground about it was strewn with decaying remnants of offerings that had been made to it
in the past. Among these I noticed, besides fragments of clothing, eagle feathers, a steel
finger ring, brass ear-rings, and a little bottle made of two copper cartridge cases.
(Grinnell 1962:262-263)
Muskogean
Seminole. use.
Ethnological specimens are more numerous and have been illustrated or described by
several writers. Perhaps the oldest specimens, probably dating from the 1860's, are two
described by Karl Schmitt (1950). These vessels are similar to McIntosh Roughened in
most respects, being almost identical in the vessel shape (Fig. 24, H–I), rim notches,
and surface finish. They differ, however, in having crushed sandstone instead of fine grit
or quartz tempering (Goggin1964:204).
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Goggin, John M.
1964 Seminole Pottery. In Indian and Spanish Selected Writings, edited by
Charles H. Fairbanks, Irving Rouse, and William C. Sturtevant, pp.
180-218. University of Miami Press, Coral Gables.
This source is an analysis of Florida Seminole pottery as it existed prehistorically,
historically, and ethnographically. The data consist of historical writings,
archeological field reports, and museum specimens. Photos and illustrations of the
items are provided. Ceramic techniques and styles are examined as well. The
Florida Seminole ceramics are compared with those of several other Southeastern
groups.
Grinnell, George B.
1962 Blackfoot Lodge Tales: The Story of a Prairie People. University of
Nebraska Press, Lincoln.
Page: 1
Blackfoot NF06. Field Date: ca. 1888. Blackfoot Indian Reservation, Montana.
This book opens with a series of English translations of Blackfoot texts, divided by
Grinnell into adventure stories, origin myths, and accounts of the travels and doings of
the culture hero, Na'pi ("Old Man"). This section is followed by an ethnographic sketch
incorporating material on all three Blackfoot subdivisions (Sík-si 'kau, Kaínah or Blood,
and Pikuni or Piegan), that includes data on daily life, social organization, hunting,
warfare, religion and ritual, and curing.
Page: 2