Translations:Food and drink prohibitions/61/en

The people of the Blackfoot Confederacy have a taboo against the consumption against fish (as well as birds including waterfowl, though the fish taboo has endured the most through generations). According to a lecture by Grant Manyheads of Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, the Blackfoot's cuisine was based in a belief that only certain animals, those with four legs and hooves and which grazed on grass, were seen as "clean" and thus suitable for consumption. This meant that any other animals, including fish, birds (especially waterfowl), and clawed animals such as bears and dogs or wolves, were not considered suitable or clean enough to eat. However, this taboo was broken in times of need and starvation. Breaking the taboo was seen as an especially desperate act among the Blackfoot, but was not seen to carry any particular religious or spiritual repercussions, hence the allowance of breaking the taboo out of desperation.