Medicine Snake Woman
Blood Blackfoot princess Natawista conjures peace and diplomacy.
By: Jana Bommersbach 01/01/2007
She was present at the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, although many historical accounts ignore her contribution. This treaty defined the intertribal boundaries between the Missouri River and the Continental Divide. Culbertson was one of three white men who set the boundary.
Then came the Fort Benton Council of 1853. Congress had appropriated $150,000 to explore the West for a “practical and economical route” for a transcontinental railroad from St. Paul to Puget Sound. Culbertson was designated a special agent for dealings with the Blackfeet. Although he was in good stead with his in-laws, it was still a dangerous visit, considering the Blackfeet had been in an unofficial war with the “Long Knives” since 1806. Natawista insisted on going with her husband.
“My people are a good people but they are jealous and vindictive,” she is quoted as saying by a report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. “I am afraid that they and the whites will not understand each other, but if I go, I may be able to explain things to them, and soothe them if they should be irritated. I know there is great danger.” (This quote is usually cited without the first sentence, perhaps reflecting historians’ suspicions that the source added the ominous opening assessment of the tribe.)
She helped soothe the way for what became known as the Lame Bull Treaty of 1855 (Lame Bull being the first chief to sign the pact on October 17). The Blackfeet believed the treaty guaranteed their homeland if they shared a common hunting ground with more Western tribes for the next 99 years. They also believed the U.S. government would provide needed supplies if they allowed safe passage through their land for settlers and the railroad.
This treaty, as was the pattern with all Indian treaties, didn’t last long. In 1862, gold was discovered on Blackfoot land and within a decade, the buffalo were just a memory, replaced by mining camps.
Back with the Bloods
In 1858, Natawista, her husband and their five children moved to an estate named Locust Grove, located near Peoria, Illinois. In a Catholic ceremony on September 9, 1859, the couple formalized their frontier marriage.
Even though she now lived in the Midwest, Natawista never forgot her roots. A relative recalled that every fall she’d set up a tipi on the lawn, don Indian garb and spend the “Indian summer” there.
Within a decade of coming to the East, the Culbertson’s wealth was gone. The couple moved back to Fort Benton, Montana, so Culbertson could resume trading. A couple years later, Natawista went to visit the Blood camps and never returned. She eventually became one of the wives of Henry Alfred Kanouse, an American whiskey trader from Peoria operating on the Bow River.
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