Imagining Head-Smashed-In Imagining Head-Smashed-In Aboriginal Buffalo Hunting on the Northern Plains Jack W. Brink © 2008 Jack W. Brink Published by AU Press, Athabasca University 1200, 10011 – 109 Street Edmonton, AB T5J 3S8 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Brink, Jack Imagining Head-Smashed-In : aboriginal buffalo hunting on the northern plains / Jack W. Brink. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-897425-04-6 (pbk.)–ISBN 978-1-897425-00-8 (bound) ISBN 978-1-897425-09-1 (electronic) 1. American bison hunting–History. 2. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump National Historic Site (Alta.). 3. Indians of North America– Hunting–Great Plains. 4. Buffalo jump–Alberta. I. Title. E78.G73B682 2008 639’.1164308997 C2008-900089-7 Printed and bound in Canada by AGMV Marquis Cover design by Rod Michalchuk This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Also, this project was funded in part by the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation. iv This is for my mother, Jenny Lou. And for my late father, consummate journalist William J. Brink Jr., wishing WKDW,KDGWKHEHQHÀWRIKLVNHHQHGLWRULDOH\HWRZKLSWKLVERRNLQWRVKDSH v Imagining Head-Smashed-In Long ago, in the winter time, the buffalo suddenly disappeared. The snow was so deep that the people could not move in search of them, for in those days they had no horses … the people began to starve. One day, a young married man killed a jack-rabbit. He was so hungry that he ran home as fast as he could, and told one of his wives to hurry and get some water to cook it. While the young woman was going along the path to the river, she heard a beautiful song … The song seemed to come from a cotton-wood tree near the path. Looking closely at this tree she saw a queer rock jammed in a fork, where the tree was split, and with it a few hairs from a buffalo, which had rubbed there. The woman was frightened and dared not pass the tree. Pretty soon the singing stopped, and the I-nis-kim spoke to the woman and said: ‘Take me to your lodge, and when it is dark, call in the people and teach them the song you have just heard. Pray, too, that you may not starve, and that the buffalo may come back. Do this, and when day comes, your hearts will be glad.’ The woman … took the rock and gave it to her husband, telling him about the song and what the rock had said. As soon as it was dark, the man called the chiefs and old men to his lodge, and his wife taught them this song. They prayed, too, as the rock had said should be done. Before long, they heard a noise far off. It was the tramp of a great herd of buffalo coming. Then they knew that the rock was very powerful, and, ever since that, the people have taken care of it and prayed to it. George Bird Grinnell, Blackfoot Lodge Tales vi Contents x Foreword xii Preface xvi Acknowledgements 1 CHAPTER 1: THE BUFFALO JUMP 8 Communal Buffalo Hunting 12 Not Just Any Cliff 14 The Site 16 The Cliff 18 How Long Have Buffalo Jumped? 24 Blood on the Rocks: The Story of Head Smashed-In 27 CHAPTER 2: THE BUFFALO 32 Is it Bison or Buffalo? 33 In Numbers, Numberless 37 Tricks of the Trade 39 The Fats of Life 43 CHAPTER 3: A YEAR IN THE LIFE 44 Calves 45 Mothers 49 Fathers 52 The Big Picture 54 Science and the Historic Record 60 The Seasonal Round 65 The Season of Buffalo Jumping 71 CHAPTER 4: THE KILLING FIELD 73 Finding Bison 75 Drive Lanes 81 Points in Time 85 Ancient Knowledge 91 Back to the Drive Lanes 97 Deadmen 101 In Small Things Forgotten vii Imagining Head-Smashed-In 103 CHAPTER 5: ROUNDING UP 105 The Spirit Sings 114 The Nose of the Buffalo 117 Fire this Time 121 Luring the Buffalo 124 Buffalo Runners 129 Lost Calves 134 Billy’s Stories 137 The End of the Drive 141 Of Illusions, Pickup Trucks, and Curves in the Road 147 CHAPTER 6: THE GREAT KILL 149 Leap of Faith 155 Overkill? 161 Drop of Death 164 Bones on Fire 168 Let the Butchering Begin 171 Bison Hide as Insulator 175 Back to the Assembly Line 179 CHAPTER 7: COOKING UP THE SPOILS 180 The Processing Site 182 Day Fades to Night 185 Dried Goods 188 Grease is the Word 191 High Plains Cooking 195 Hazel Gets Slimed 198 Buffalo Chips 200 Hot Rocks 206 Time for a Roast 211 Where Are the Skulls? 216 Packing Up, Among the Bears 221 CHAPTER 8: GOING HOME 224 Buffalo Hides 229 Pemmican 235 Snow Falling on Cottonwoods viii 237 CHAPTER 9: THE END OF THE BUFFALO HUNT 238 The Skin of the Animal 246 The Last of the Buffalo Jumps 251 Rivers of Bones 253 Final Abandonment of Head-Smashed-In 259 CHAPTER 10: THE PAST BECOMES THE PRESENT 260 Beginnings 261 A Beer-soaked Bar Napkin 263 Cranes on the Cliff 266 A Rubber Cliff 269 And a Rubber Dig 272 The Blackfoot Get Involved 274 Meeting with the Piikani 276 Joe Crowshoe 278 A Painted Skull 282 Where Are the Blood? 284 Hollywood North 287 Opening and Aftermath 289 Of Time and Tradition 293 EPILOGUE: JUST A SIMPLE STONE 293 Last Summer 295 A Thousand Years Ago 298 Three Months Later 301 Three Days Later 305 Sources to Notes 326 References Cited 335 Index ix Imagining Head-Smashed-In Foreword Archaeology on the northern plains spans the second half of the twentieth century. Although people had found objects from the old stone age, the dedicated inquiry that goes with the profession only appeared when universities and museums supported researchers. These curators and professors, such as Richard Forbis (1919–1999) and Marie Wormington (1914–1994), made their occupation the full WLPHVHDUFKIRUWUDFHVRIDQFLHQWSHRSOH7KDWÀUVWJHQHUDWLRQEURXJKW with them the methods of an observational science. Their immediate goal was to systematically excavate through the different strata and UHFRUGWKHLUÀQGLQJV7KHLUORQJWHUPREMHFWLYHZDVWRPDNHVHQVHRI the artifacts and features in order to understand the cultural history of the northern plains. Their motivation was to establish a chronol- ogy or devise a taxonomy from patterns in the material culture they unearthed. More importantly, they trained the students who would SLFNXSWKHWDVNRILQWHUSUHWLQJWKHDUFKDHRORJLFDOUHFRUGDQGÀQG WKHH[SODQDWLRQVWKDWÀWWKHGDWD From then to the present generation, the sites that persistently pique the imagination are the enigmatic buffalo jumps. Interpreting WKHDUFKDHRORJLFDOUHFRUGPD\VHHPOLNHWU\LQJWRÀQGDQVZHUVLQWKH entrails of a badger. However, archaeologists possess many meth- ods that help them understand the life and culture of people who in ancient times called the northern plains their home. The modern era LQDUFKDHRORJ\EHQHÀWVIURPEUHDNWKURXJKVLQRWKHUGLVFLSOLQHVEXW in return archaeologists contribute food for thought. Like many in this profession, Jack Brink feels fortunate that he can conduct research that continuously stokes the sense of wonder that makes his job worth- while. He also recognizes that there exists strong public interest in archaeological work and that we have a duty to report the results of our inquiries in an accessible manner. Thus he can inject his wry sense of humour into the text to illustrate a point he wants to make. When Jack began his studies in archaeology he was able to con- centrate on that topic at university. As a young student he learned his trade from his elder academics, but he was not content to merely absorb data. He has devoted his career to expanding the knowledge base he inherited from them. Of course the challenge for him was not just to look for answers, but also to look for questions. What re- mains to be done in northern plains archaeology? What questions x will preoccupy the current generation of archaeologists? You might well ask. Jack certainly has. He has picked up the task initiated by his intellectual predecessors and continues to look for insights amid the EXIIDORMXPSV7KHUHDGHUZLOOHDVLO\ÀQGWKHKXPDQLW\LQERWKWKH author and his subject. Nowhere is there a hint of the stereotypical researcher preoccupied with minutiae while ignoring the big picture around him. Curiosity and wonder drew Jack to the cliffs and crevices that ÀUHGKLVLPDJLQDWLRQ7KLVPHPRLURIKLVFRQWHPSODWLRQVDERXWWKH buffalo jumps, and other artifacts of ancient people, is a synthesis of his life’s work. Together with his knowledge he takes on the role of storyteller, relating the personal anecdotes that spiced up his research. He also poses challenges for the next generation. What research ques- tions will they formulate to imagine the northern plains in ancient times? How will they use the knowledge they gain? Well, that is up to them to determine, but at least they will have Jack Brink’s narrative to guide their thoughts. The vantage point from his perspective is similar to the expansive view of the plains from the edge of the precipice. His endeavours have FXOPLQDWHGZLWKWKLVLQVSLUHGYROXPH)URPKLVSHQÁRZVDTXL[RWLF tour through archaeology; with his own practical guide for imagining northern plains antiquity, including all the blood and guts. More than anything, Jack shows us yet again that buffalo do not jump; they have to be pushed! Eldon Yellowhorn Assistant Professor 'HSDUWPHQWRI$UFKDHRORJ\)LUVW1DWLRQV6WXGLHV 6LPRQ)UDVHU8QLYHUVLW\ Burnaby, British Columbia xi Imagining Head-Smashed-In Preface A great archaeologist once told me not to let facts get in the way of a good story. For the most part I have ignored that advice. In the fol- lowing pages I have tried to make an ancient, dusty, nearly forgotten story come alive.