Fools Crow Study Guide

Fools Crow

Fools Crow by James Welch

Fools Crow is the story of the title character, a young Blackfoot Indian who grows to manhood against the backdrop of increasing American incursion on Indian territory. Fools Crow and his people are caught between threats of military action and the cultural threat of assimilation, the destruction of native culture and its absorption by expansionist Western society. The book ends with the Marias Massacre, a charge by U. S. cavalry against unarmed Blackfoot civilians.

Fools Crow Characters

Table of Contents
  • Pikuni – A clan of the Blackfeet tribe.
  • Napikwan – refers to White people.
  • White Man's Dog/Fools Crow – Protagonist. Will eventually lead his tribe.
  • Rides-at-the-Door – Fools Crow's father. Becomes chief after Three Bears dies.
  • Double Strike Woman – Fools Crow's mother and Rides-at-the-Door's wife.
  • Striped Face – Second wife of Rides-at-the-Door.
  • Kills Close to the Lake - Third wife of Rides-at-the-Door. She is 17 years old.
  • Running Fisher – Fools Crow's brother.
  • Fast Horse – Fools Crow's friend, son of Boss Ribs. Turns away from tradition, but atones by returning Yellow Kidney's body.
  • Yellow Kidney – Leader of the horse raid, where he rapes a dying young woman and is captured. Father of Red Paint and father-in-law of Fools Crow. Eventually killed by the Napikwan.
  • Heavy Shield Woman – Wife of Yellow Kidney.
  • Red Paint – Daughter of Yellow Kidney, marries Fools Crow.
  • Mik-Api – Medicine man of the Blackfeet. Teaches Fools Crow the traditional songs and medicines.
  • Owl Child – A Pikuni rebel who plans on waging war on Napikwan. Provokes retaliation.
  • Mountain Chief – Pikuni chief who aligns with armed struggle rather than compromise. (Not historically accurate. Mountain Chief was the final leader of the Blackfeet tribe, not Rides-at-the-door, a fictional character.)
  • Heavy Runner – Pikuni leader who, in contrast to Mountain Chief, cooperated with the US. (Heavy Runner's band was mistakenly killed by Army forces at the Marias Massacre.)
  • Boss Ribs - Father of Fast Horse. Well respected in the tribe

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