What kind of dances do the blackfoot tribe do?

Answer 1

The Blackfoot were historically not a single tribe but a confederation of three (later four) tribal groups, each with their own special traditions, clans, warrior societies and dances. They were the Piegan (Pikuni), Kainah (Blood) and Blackfoot proper, with the Sarsi tribe being added as allies. All these are collectively known as the Blackfoot tribes.

Some historical dances were The Riding Big Dance, involving painted warriors dancing on foot beside their horses, which took place before a war party set out: the Scalp Dance, when trophies such as enemy scalps, hands, feet, or heads would be carried on poles by women as they danced in a circle; social dances with men and women dancing separately; ceremonial dancing by a holy man when transfering a medicine bundle, pipe or shield to someone else; the sacred Sun Dance (a complex and lengthy ritual that you will need to research yourself); and each of the warrior societies had its own set of dances to bring success in war, usually with particular items of dress and special body painting.

Towards the end of the 19th century, when the US government had forbidden the old religion to be practised, "neutral" dances were taken from other tribes. These included the Grass Dance (from the Assiniboins) and the Water Beaver Dance (from the Crows). Today the dances and strange, fancy costumes seen at Powwows and Indian Fairs reflect these later imported dances, not the old traditional Blackfoot ones.