'
The religion of the Algonquin Indians seems to have been
a rude nature worship. The Sun, as the great giver of
warmth and light, was the object of their adoration; to
a lesser degree, they looked upon fire as a superhuman
thing, worthy of worship. The four winds of heaven,
bringing storm and rain from the unknown boundaries of
the world, were regarded as spirits. Each Indian clan or
section of a tribe chose for its special devotion an
animal, the name of which became the distinctive symbol
of the clan. This is what is meant by the 'totems' of
the different branches of a tribe.
The Algonquins knew nothing of the art of writing, beyond
rude pictures scratched or painted on wood. The Algonquin
tribes, as we have seen, roamed far to the west. One
branch frequented the upper Saskatchewan river. Here the
ashes of the prairie fires discoloured their moccasins
and turned them black, and, in consequence, they were
called the Blackfeet Indians. Even when they moved to
other parts of the country, the name was still applied
to them.
Occupying the stretch of country to the south of the
Algonquins was the famous race known as the Iroquoian
Family.
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