Set of four gambling sticks for playing onesteh; bone, pigment; l. 18.5 to 21.5 cm.; 1870-1900.<BR> <BR> This set was a gift to Willie from the other wife of Duck Head (see 2294-7). The way the game was played was then demonstrated to her (Uhlenbeck-Melchior 1911; RMV 1935; Eggermont-Molenaar 2005:151-152).<BR> <BR> As a pastime the Blackfoot liked gambling, and a number of competitive games were played, including "onesteh," played by women. According to naturalist and avocational ethnographer George Bird Grinnell, they used four stick dice, manufactured from flat pieces of buffalo rib, tapering at the ends. Each had a different pattern of grooves on one side, painted in one or more colors. Two single women or two groups of women could play against each other by throwing the stick dice and counting and adding up the result, the totals being recorded using a pile of wooden sticks (Culin 1907:56-58).