As an infant he was given the name Astohkomi Shot Close. As was customary, Crowfoot began when in his teens to accompany older warriors on raids against enemy tribes. During a raid for horses on a Crow camp, he performed bravely and was wounded, for which he was given his adult name Isapo-muxika, a name that had been owned by a relative killed several years earlier.
Although Crowfoot was not from a family of chiefs and was from another tribe, he soon demonstrated his leadership abilities among the Blackfoot Indians. Perhaps more important, he continued to establish himself as a formidable and respected warrior. Before he was 20 years old he had been in 19 battles and had been wounded six times. His most serious wound occurred during a winter raid upon the Shoshoni Indians; he was shot in the back and the lead ball was never removed.
In later years this wound made it difficult for him to ride horses or to travel long distances. Crowfoot seldom went to war after he reached manhood. Instead, he became involved with raising horses, which made him wealthy, and in the affairs of the tribe.
In , with the death of the chief of his band, No-okskatos Three Suns , Crowfoot became a minor chief of the Blackfoot tribe, leading a band of about 21 lodges. At first his followers were known as the Big Pipes band but later were renamed the Moccasin band. It was in also that Crowfoot first came to the attention of the local white population after his dramatic role in a battle at Three Ponds, which occurred just east of the present village of Hobbema, Alta.
Although greatly outnumbered and despite casualties, the Blackfeet held off the raiders for several hours during the night. Just before dawn Father Lacombe tried to get between the lines to call a truce, but he was not recognized by the Crees and was wounded by a ricocheting bullet. When the battle seemed lost, Crowfoot arrived with a large number of warriors and the enemy was soon routed.
Crowfoot, as a minor chief, tried to establish friendly relations with white fur-traders and missionaries. In the smallpox epidemic of —70 several Blackfoot leaders died and Crowfoot emerged as one of the three head chiefs of the tribe.
In , with the death of Akamih-kayi Big Swan , the leadership was reduced to Crowfoot and Natosapi Old Sun , an elderly warrior chief. Some months later during a temporary peace treaty between the Blackfeet and Crees, Crowfoot met a Cree who bore a startling resemblance to his dead son. Poundmaker returned to the Crees where he became a chief, but he remained close friends with Crowfoot for the rest of his life.
During the s American traders were invading the Canadian west selling whisky and repeating rifles to the Indians. As a result, hundreds of Indians were dying from the liquor and the intertribal warfare it precipitated. When Crowfoot was informed in that the North-West Mounted Police were being organized and were coming to his hunting grounds he welcomed the police as a needed solution to a serious problem. The whiskey brought among us by the Traders is fast killing us off and we are powerless before the evil.
Our horses, Buffalo robes and other articles of trade go for whiskey, a large number of our people have killed one another and perished in various ways under the influence, and now that we hear of our Great Mother sending her soldiers into our country for our good we are glad.
Typical of the Plains Indians in many aspects of their culture, the Blackfoot, also known as Blackfeet, were nomadic hunter-gatherers, living in teepees and subsisting primarily on buffalo and gathered vegetable foods. Originally living in the northern Great Lakes Region, the Blackfoot was one of the first tribes to begin moving Westward. Thought to have been pushed out by their arch enemies, the Cree Indians, the Blackfoot began to roam the northern plains from Saskatchewan to the Rocky Mountains.
Oral tradition indicates that the buffalo were first hunted in drives and deer and smaller game were caught with snares. Although fish were abundant, they were eaten only when no other meat source was available. During the winter, the Blackfoot separated into bands near wooded areas of approximately 10 to 20 lodges, each encompassing somewhere between and people. Each band, led by a Chief, was large enough to defend against attacks but small enough to be mobile should provisions run short.
The size also provided for buffalo hunts in the timbered regions where buffalo often wintered, sheltered from the storms and making them easy prey.
Bands were defined by residence rather than kinship and members were free to join other bands whenever they liked. Leaders of each band was an informal process, defined by wealth, war success and ceremonial experiences. In the spring, when the buffalo moved out onto the grasslands, the Blackfoot followed after all trace of the winter had ended.
During the summer, the Blackfoot lived in large tribal camps, hunting buffalo and engaging in ceremonial rituals. In mid-summer, the people grouped for a major tribal ceremony, the Sun Dance. The assembly provided for ceremonial rituals, social purposes, and warrior societies based on brave acts and deeds..
Large buffalo hunts provided food and offerings for the ceremonies. After the Sun Dance assembly, the Blackfoot once again separated to follow the buffalo.
Earl became Chief of the Blackfeet Nation in , a lifetime appointment, by family of the late James White Calf, and in , he was inducted into the elite Kainai Chieftainship in Canada.
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