Medicine Hat the name "Medicine Hat" is the english translation of Saamis (SA-MUS) – the Blackfoot word for the eagle tail feather headdress worn by medicine men.

Several legends are associated with the name of a mythical mer-man river serpent named Soy-yee-daa-bee – the Creator – who appeared to a hunter and instructed him to sacrifice his wife to get mystical powers which were manifest in a special hat.