Before interacting with the Europeans, the Blackfeet Indians were a peaceful, free-roaming tribe. They lived off the land by hunting and gathering their food; elk, deer, bison, berries, roots, and other animals and vegetation. Obviously, for berries and roots they would have to go out and pick them; however, coming upon bison and other wild animals was a different story. They had to have a very well planed out strategy that could effectively kill bison. If they did not they would be mauled. They used spears and bows and arrows before guns were introduced to their culture. Blackfeet living were sacred and they believed that the sun was an exponentially powerful being. Men and women would embark on vision quests to find themselves and went through ceremonies of sacred bundles to obtain the blessing and protection of the powerful bird and animal spirits and through spiritual guidance from medicine men and women. The Sun Dance eventually happened as a summer ceremony that brought together different and independent bands. To the Blackfeet a smoking pipe was considered a ritual and sacred ceremony. The pipes were always specially decorated, they were either carved with designs or had porcupine quill work. Pipe rituals were so common that every Blackfoot family had a pipe in their possession. It brought a sense of unity to the tribe and was very important to their spiritual beliefs. Life was good and then they were introduced to the white man. In 1806, the Lewis and Clark expedition went right through the Blackfoot territory. This resulted in periodic attacks on expeditionists. The Blackfoot gained a grimacing reputation for aggression and hostility because of their opposition to the oncoming of fur trappers in their territory. This reputation had negative impact on the tribe because of the rumors that spread around the whites. However, they remained on good terms with the Hudson's Bay Company. The Blackfeet were encouraged to trade at the Hudson Bay company trading posts. The Blackfoot traded a lot of entities such as; buffalo robes, pemmic