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áa: Blackfeet word meaning "yes."

Almost-brother, almost-mother, almost sister: These words are used to differentiate a person who is a full blood sister, mother, father, uncle or aunt, as distinguished from those who share blood in common, but only from one of their parents.

The other use of this term is for a person who is like a brother or a sister, but with whom one does not share any blood relationship.

Backbone-of-the-world Mountains or simply, The Backbone: The Rocky Mountains

Butte: A steep hill or mountain, often rugged and flat on top, standing alone in a prairie.

Coup: A deed of daring performed by a warrior, who has saved the people from an enemy's assault upon them.

Killing an enemy in battle is a coup; taking a loaded gun from an enemy in battle is a coup, as is the killing of a grizzly bear.

Stealing an enemy's horses without oneself being killed is a coup, as is the rescuing of another who is under attack.

There are other actions that are a coup. The word comes to us from the French.

Cutbank: A cliff that is nearly vertical and ends abruptly in a stream or a river.

Engagée: This was a man, usually of French descent, who was contracted to a fort to work for the fort. Sometimes it is spelled engagé.

Everywhere Water: The Oceans, both the Atlantic (East) and the Pacific (West).

Factor: Out west, the Factor was the man who was in-charge of the business of the fort as well as all the goings on within it.

Ha' : A Blackfoot expression that shows scorn.

Maká'pato'si — Evil spirit.

Medicine Man: In the American Indian tribes, this was the man who used different herbs, muds, plants and prayer to heal another.

A medicine man also had his own "particular" medicine and ways of healing, having obtained these from the Creator, from whom all healing flowed.

It differs from our definition of this person today (a Medical Doctor) in that the medicine man used no drugs; his remedies were found in nature or those given to him in the spiritual world by God, the Creator.

Sometimes an animal would share his "medicine of healing" with the medicine man, such as the bear or the beaver.

The medicine man also knew it was only God who could heal and that the medicine man was the means by which God, The Creator, could heal another.

There were usually many medicine men within a tribe.

Medicine: When the Indians were first met by the Europeans, the newcomer (Europeans) thought the medicine man was using magic to heal.

Although the medicine man could do things we might consider "magic" today, it was known in Indian country that these special powers came from the Creator.

Often the European saw the medicine man or the medicine woman use growing things or mud from nature to heal, such as plants, seeds, roots, flowers.

These would be used in teas or as a compress.

The French were the first ones to call this ' Medecin.

' The Americans added the name 'man' or 'woman' to the French word, ' Medecin,' thus becoming Medicine Man or Medicine Woman, referring to the man or the woman who was looked to by the tribe to do their best to heal other members of the tribe.

Old Man: In Blackfeet Legend, Old Man is referred as the old man who created the earth and all the animals, the mountains and other things on the earth.

He often, however, gets himself into trouble and is sometimes looked upon as a trickster.

In some instances, he does things that get him into trouble to show the people what not to do.