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92-687: The Blackfoot Confederacy , Niitsitapi , or Siksikaitsitapi ( ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ , meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Blackfeet people: the Siksika ("Blackfoot"), the Kainai or Blood ("Many Chiefs"), and two sections of the Peigan or Piikani ("Splotchy Robe") – the Northern Piikani ( Aapátohsipikáni ) and

184-639: A Cree"), in their local groups. Loosely allied with the Nehiyaw-Pwat , but politically independent, were neighboring tribes like the Ktunaxa , Secwepemc and in particular the arch enemy of the Blackfoot, the Crow, or Indian trading partners like the Nez Perce and Flathead. The Shoshone acquired horses much sooner than the Blackfoot and soon occupied much of present-day Alberta, most of Montana, and parts of Wyoming, and raided

276-588: A flexible word order . The Blackfoot language has experienced a substantial decrease in speakers since the 1960s and is classified as "definitely endangered" by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. In Canada, this loss has been attributed largely to residential schools , where Indigenous students were often punished severely for speaking their first languages. Widespread language loss can also be attributed to

368-532: A greater speed. They could be ridden for hunting and travel. Horses revolutionised life on the Great Plains and soon came to be regarded as a measure of wealth. Warriors regularly raided other tribes for their best horses. Horses were generally used as universal standards of barter. Medicine men were paid for cures and healing with horses. Those who designed shields or war bonnets were also paid in horses. The men gave horses to those who were owed gifts as well as to

460-558: A gun from a living enemy and or touching him directly; capturing lances, and bows; scalping an enemy; killing an enemy; freeing a tied horse from in front of an enemy lodge; leading a war party; scouting for a war party; stealing headdresses, shields, pipes (sacred ceremonial pipes); and driving a herd of stolen horses back to camp. The Niitsitapi were enemies of the Crow , Cheyenne ( kiihtsipimiitapi – ″Pinto People″), and Sioux (Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota) (called pinaapisinaa – "East Cree") on

552-534: A head start (famously known in the annals of the West as "Colter's Run.") He eventually escaped by reaching a river five miles away and diving under either an island of driftwood or a beaver dam , where he remained concealed until after nightfall. He trekked another 300 miles to a fort. In the context of shifting tribal politics due to the spread of horses and guns, the Niitsitapi initially tried to increase their trade with

644-563: A member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, returned to Blackfoot country soon after, he barely escaped with his life. In 1809, Colter and his companion were trapping on the Jefferson River by canoe when they were surrounded by hundreds of Blackfoot warriors on horseback on both sides of the river bank. Colter's companion, John Potts, did not surrender and was killed. Colter was stripped of his clothes and forced to run for his life, after being given

736-448: A period of great struggle and economic hardship; the Niitsitapi had to try to adapt to a completely new way of life. They suffered a high rate of fatalities when exposed to Eurasian diseases, for which they had no natural immunity. Eventually, they established a viable economy based on farming, ranching, and light industry. Their population has increased to about 16,000 in Canada and 15,000 in

828-453: A respected leader , possibly his brothers and parents, and others who were not related. Since the band was defined by place of residence, rather than by kinship, a person was free to leave one band and join another, which tended to ameliorate leadership disputes. Also, should a band fall upon hard times, its members could split up and join other bands. In practice, bands were constantly forming and breaking up. The system maximized flexibility and

920-425: A vowel system with three monophthongs , /i o a/ . The short monophthongs exhibit allophonic changes as well. The vowels /a/ and /o/ are raised to [ʌ] and [ʊ] respectively when followed by a long consonant. The vowel /i/ becomes [ɪ] in closed syllables. There are three additional diphthongs in Blackfoot. The first diphthong ai is pronounced [ɛ] before a long consonant, [ei] (or [ai] , in

1012-514: A while north of the Great Lakes in present-day Canada, but had to compete for resources with existing tribes. They left the Great Lakes area and kept moving west. When they moved, they usually packed their belongings on an A-shaped sled called a travois . The travois was designed for transport over dry land. The Blackfoot had relied on dogs to pull the travois ; they did not acquire horses until

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1104-430: A wooded river valley. They were located perhaps a day's march apart, not moving camp unless food for the people and horses, or firewood became depleted. Where there was adequate wood and game resources, some bands would camp together. During this part of the year, buffalo also wintered in wooded areas, where they were partially sheltered from storms and snow. They were easier prey as their movements were hampered. In spring

1196-627: Is a limited sample of phonological rules. Glides are deleted after another consonant, except a glottal stop, or word initially but kept in other conditions. poos-wa cat- AN . SG poos-wa cat-AN.SG póósa / ᑲᓭ póósa / ᑲᓭ 'cat' óóhkotok-yi stone- INAN . SG óóhkotok-yi stone-INAN.SG óóhkotoki / ᖲᑊᖾᒪᖽ óóhkotoki / ᖲᑊᖾᒪᖽ 'stone' w-ókoʼsi 3 . SG . POSS -child w-ókoʼsi 3.SG.POSS-child ókoʼsi / ᖲᖾᓱ ókoʼsi / ᖲᖾᓱ 'his/her child' North Peigan The Piikani Nation ( / p ɪ ˈ - ɪ - k ə - n i / , formerly

1288-505: Is a member of the Treaty 7 Management Corporation . The Piikani Nation has a history of firsts. It was the first band in Alberta to demand a vote in provincial elections, the first to allow liquor onto a reserve, the first to assume administration of their reserve, and the first to host Indian Day Celebrations as a means of retaining and maintaining their culture. Education has been controlled by

1380-564: Is an alternate name for the Blackfoot tribe. The exact translation is 'black foot' in French. Other Siksikáíʼpowahsin ( syllabics : ᓱᘁᓱᘁᖳᐟᑲᖷᑊᓱᐡ) and Niitsipowahsin (ᖹᐨᓱᑲᖷᑊᓱᐡ) are two other language variations for Blackfoot. Blackfoot is a member of the Algonquian language family belonging to the Plains areal grouping along with Arapaho , Gros Ventre , and Cheyenne . Blackfoot

1472-625: Is classified as either a threatened or endangered language, depending on the source used. Like the other Algonquian languages, Blackfoot is considered to be a polysynthetic language due to its large morpheme inventory and word internal complexity. A majority of Blackfoot morphemes have a one–to–one correspondence between form and meaning, a defining feature of agglutinative languages . However, Blackfoot does display some fusional characteristics as there are morphemes that are polysemous. Both noun and verb stems cannot be used bare but must be inflected. Due to its morphological complexity, Blackfoot has

1564-725: Is governed by a council comprising a chief and twelve councillors elected according to custom rather than the provisions of the Indian Act. To this end, in 2002, the Piikani Nation implemented the Piikani Nation Election By-law and Regulations (collectively referred to as the "Election Code"). This code includes a reference in its preamble to Piikanissini , the traditional teachings of the Piikani, and allows for councillors to be dismissed if they are found to be in violation of

1656-534: Is known as the Blackfoot Confederacy, meaning that they have banded together to help one another. The nations have their own separate governments ruled by a head chief, but regularly come together for religious and social celebrations. Originally the Blackfoot/Plains Confederacy consisted of three peoples ("nation", "tribes", "tribal nations") based on kinship and dialect , but all speaking

1748-559: Is spoken in Northwestern Montana and throughout Alberta, Canada, making it geographically one of the westernmost Algonquian languages. The Blackfoot people had been one of many Native American nations that inhabited the Great Plains west of the Mississippi River . The people were bison hunters , with settlements in what is now the northern United States and southern Canada. Forced to move because of wars with neighboring tribes,

1840-483: Is used relative to the contiguous syllables. Blackfoot utterances experience a gradual drop in pitch therefore if an utterance contains a set of accented vowels the first will be higher in pitch than the second but the second will be higher in pitch than the syllables directly surrounding it. Pitch is illustrated in the Latin-based orthography with an acute accent. Blackfoot is rich with morpho-phonological changes. Below

1932-574: The American Fur Company entered the Upper Missouri region from the south for the first time, without Niitsitapiksi permission. This led to tensions and conflict until 1830, when peaceful trade was established. This was followed by the opening of Fort Piegan as the first American trading post in Niitsitapi territory in 1831, joined by Fort MacKenzie in 1833. The Americans offered better terms of trade and were more interested in buffalo skins than

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2024-767: The Blackfoot Confederacy ( Niitsítapi / ᖹᒧᐧᒣᑯ ), the Peigan people occupied territory before the 1870s on both sides of what is now the Canada–United States border . The Blackfoot Confederacy signed several treaties with the US and received the Great Northern Reservation, an initially vast reservation in present-day Montana. However, 220 Peigans were massacred by the US Army in 1870 and American authorities pressured

2116-647: The North Saskatchewan River , on the northern boundary of their territory. In the 1830s the Rocky Mountain region and the wider Saskatchewan District were the HBC's most profitable, and Rocky Mountain House was the HBC's busiest post. It was primarily used by the Piikani. Other Niitsitapiksi nations traded more in pemmican and buffalo skins than beaver, and visited other posts such as Fort Edmonton . Meanwhile, in 1822,

2208-614: The Oldman River , west of the future site of Lethbridge , to the west of the Kainai tribe. With its headquarters in Brocket, Alberta , the Piikani Nation controls two parcels of land, Peigan Timber Limit "B" and the Piikani 147 Indian reserve (on which Brocket is located). As of 2014 the band had a registered population of 3,638 members, of whom 2,358 lived on Piikani Nation reserves. The band

2300-638: The Peigan Nation ) ( Blackfoot : Piikani / ᑯᖾᖹ ) is a First Nation (or an Indian band as defined by the Indian Act ), representing the Indigenous people in Canada known as the Northern Piikani ([Aapátohsipikáni / ᖳᑫᒪᓱᑯᖿᖹ] Error: {{Langx}}: Non-latn text/Latn script subtag mismatch ( help ) ) or simply the Peigan ( Piikani or Pe'-e-ku-nee ). Historically speaking the Blackfoot language and members of

2392-629: The Rocky Mountains (called Miistakistsi ) and along the South Saskatchewan River to the present Alberta-Saskatchewan border (called Kaayihkimikoyi ), east past the Cypress Hills . They called their tribal territory Niitsitpiis-stahkoii (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᐨᑯᐧ ᓴᐦᖾᐟ)- "Original People s Land." To the east, the Innu and Naskapi called their territory Nitassinan – "Our Land." They had adopted the use of

2484-535: The Sixties Scoop , through which thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their families, often without parental consent, and relocated by the government into non-Indigenous families. As a result of these losses, the Blackfoot community has launched numerous language revitalization efforts, include the Piikani Traditional Knowledge Services and many more. Pied Noir Pied-Noir

2576-610: The Southern Piikani ( Amskapi Piikani or Pikuni ). Broader definitions include groups such as the Tsúùtínà ( Sarcee ) and A'aninin ( Gros Ventre ) who spoke quite different languages but allied with or joined the Blackfoot Confederacy. Historically, the member peoples of the Confederacy were nomadic bison hunters and trout fishermen, who ranged across large areas of the northern Great Plains of western North America, specifically

2668-684: The semi-arid shortgrass prairie ecological region. They followed the bison herds as they migrated between what are now the United States and Canada, as far north as the Bow River . In the first half of the 18th century, they acquired horses and firearms from white traders and their Cree and Assiniboine go-betweens . The Blackfoot used these to expand their territory at the expense of neighboring tribes. Today, three Blackfoot First Nation band governments (the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations) reside in

2760-539: The 18th century. From the Great Lakes area, they continued to move west and eventually settled in the Great Plains. The Plains had covered approximately 780,000 square miles (2,000,000 km) with the Saskatchewan River to the north, the Rio Grande to the south, the Mississippi River to the east, and the Rocky Mountains to the west. Adopting the use of the horse, the Niitsitapi established themselves as one of

2852-511: The Blackfoot frequently. Once the Piegan gained access to horses of their own and guns, obtained from the HBC via the Cree and Assiniboine, the situation changed. By 1787 David Thompson reports that the Blackfoot had completely conquered most of Shoshone territory, and frequently captured Shoshone women and children and forcibly assimilated them into Blackfoot society, further increasing their advantages over

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2944-456: The Blackfoot people settled all around the plains area, eventually concentrating in what is now Montana and Alberta. Blackfoot hunters would track and hunt game, while the remaining people would gather food, and other necessities for the winter. The northern plains, where the Blackfoot settled, had incredibly harsh winters, and the flat land provided little escape from the winds. The Blackfoot Nation thrived, along with many other native groups, until

3036-628: The Blackfoot to give up more and more lands to settlers (69,000 km or 17 million acres were ceded in 1887 ), leading some Peigans to relocate to Canada and sign Treaty 7 with the Canadian government in 1877. The Peigan are now divided between the Blackfeet Nation ( Aamsskáápipikani / ᖳᐢᔈᖿᑯᑯᖿᖹ or "Southern Piikani") based on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana , and

3128-518: The Blackfoot traveled by foot and used dogs to carry and pull some of their goods. They had not seen horses in their previous lands, but were introduced to them on the Plains, as other tribes, such as the Shoshone , had already adopted their use. They saw the advantages of horses and wanted some. The Blackfoot called the horses ponokamita (elk dogs). The horses could carry much more weight than dogs and moved at

3220-731: The Canadian and English fur trade before meeting the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1806. Lewis and Clark and their men had embarked on mapping the Louisiana Territory and upper Missouri River for the United States government . On their return trip from the Pacific Coast, Lewis and three of his men encountered a group of young Blackfoot warriors with a large herd of horses, and it was clear to Meriwether Lewis that they were not far from much larger groups of warriors. Lewis explained to them that

3312-647: The Canadian province of Alberta , while the Blackfeet Nation is a federally recognized Native American tribe of Southern Piikani in Montana , United States. Additionally, the Gros Ventre are members of the federally recognized Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana in the United States and the Tsuutʼina Nation is a First Nation band government in Alberta, Canada. The four Blackfoot nations come together to make up what

3404-734: The Election Bylaws and in keeping with the principles of Piikanissini ." In 2002 the voters of Piikani Nation approved a $ 64.3 million settlement with the governments of Alberta and Canada over Piikani water rights impacted by the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation Headworks on the Oldman River. The monies were deposited in the Piikani Trust governed by the Piikani Trust Agreement. The agreement also allowed

3496-640: The Election Code did not include such powers for the elders as written, however, and so it gave the band six months to clarify the code. The principles of Piikanissini were invoked once again when on December 13, 2013, Gayle Strikes With A Gun was removed as chief by the Piikani Nation Removal Appeals Board because she "failed to maintain a standard of conduct expected of a member of the Piikani Nation Council, as set out in

3588-564: The European settlers arrived in the late eighteenth century. The settlers brought with them horses and technology, but also disease and weapons. Diseases like smallpox, foreign to the natives, decimated the Blackfoot population in the mid-nineteenth century. Groups of Blackfoot people rebelled against the Europeans, such as Mountain Chief 's tribe. But in 1870, a tribe of peaceful Blackfoot were mistaken for

3680-445: The Europeans caused a spread of infectious diseases to the Niitsitapi, mostly cholera and smallpox . In one instance in 1837, an American Fur Company steamboat, the St. Peter's , was headed to Fort Union and several passengers contracted smallpox on the way. They continued to send a smaller vessel with supplies farther up the river to posts among the Niitsitapi. The Niitsitapi contracted

3772-550: The Great Plains; and the Shoshone , Flathead , Kalispel , Kootenai (called kotonáá'wa ) and Nez Perce (called komonóítapiikoan ) in the mountain country to their west and southwest. Their most mighty and most dangerous enemy, however, were the political/military/trading alliance of the Iron Confederacy or Nehiyaw-Pwat (in Plains Cree : Nehiyaw – 'Cree' and Pwat or Pwat-sak – 'Sioux, i.e. Assiniboine') – named after

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3864-639: The Gros Ventre attacked and burned in 1793 South Branch House of the HBC on the South Saskatchewan River near the present village of St. Louis, Saskatchewan . Then, the tribe moved southward to the Milk River in Montana and allied themselves with the Blackfoot. The area between the North Saskatchewan River and Battle River (the name derives from the war fought between these two tribal groups)

3956-550: The HBC traders in Rupert's Land whilst blocking access to the HBC by neighboring peoples to the West. But the HBC trade eventually reached into what is now inland British Columbia. By the late 1820s, [this prompted] the Niitsitapiksi, and in particular the Piikani, whose territory was rich in beaver, [to] temporarily put aside cultural prohibitions and environmental constraints to trap enormous numbers of these animals and, in turn, receive greater quantities of trade items. The HBC encouraged Niitsitapiksi to trade by setting up posts on

4048-400: The HBC, which brought them more trade from the Niitsitapi. The HBC responded by building Bow Fort (Peigan Post) on the Bow River in 1832, but it was not a success. In 1833, German explorer Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied and Swiss painter Karl Bodmer spent months with the Niitsitapi to get a sense of their culture. Bodmer portrayed their society in paintings and drawings. Contact with

4140-468: The Lakota then to be refugees and was sympathetic to their strife, but retained his anti-war stance. Sitting Bull and Crowfoot fostered peace between the two nations by a ceremonial offering of tobacco, ending hostilities between them. Sitting Bull was so impressed by Crowfoot that he named one of his sons after him. The Blackfoot also chose to stay out of the North-West Rebellion , led by the famous Métis leader Louis Riel . Louis Riel and his men added to

4232-425: The NWMP to fight them if they came north into Blackfoot country again. News of Crowfoot's loyalty reached Ottawa and from there London ; Queen Victoria praised Crowfoot and the Blackfoot for their loyalty. Despite his threats, Crowfoot later met those Lakota who had fled with Sitting Bull into Canada after defeating George Armstrong Custer and his battalion at the Battle of Little Big Horn . Crowfoot considered

4324-411: The Nation to acquire 10,300 acres (42 km ) of new reserve land. The band later took out loans against the trust to invest in industrial developments, and were then sued by a band member alleging mismanagement. The band then filed suit against a Calgary-based investment broker for defrauding it of $ 23 million from the settlement. In 2012, the band's investment company, Piikani Investment Corporation,

4416-403: The Niitsitapi Confederacy. During the so-called Buffalo Wars (about 1850 – 1870), they penetrated further and further into the territory from the Niitsitapi Confederacy in search for the buffalo, so that the Piegan were forced to give way in the region of the Missouri River (in Cree: Pikano Sipi – "Muddy River", "Muddy, turbid River"), the Kainai withdrew to the Bow River and Belly River ; only

4508-439: The Niitsitapi began in 1800 a long phase of keen competition in the fur trade with their former Cree allies, which often escalated militarily. In addition both groups had adapted to using horses about 1730, so by mid-century an adequate supply of horses became a question of survival. Horse theft was at this stage not only a proof of courage, but often a desperate contribution to survival, for many ethnic groups competed for hunting in

4600-430: The Niitsitapi did not originate in the Great Plains of the Midwest North America, but migrated from the upper Northeastern part of the country. They coalesced as a group while living in the forests of what is now the Northeastern United States. They were mostly located around the modern-day border between Canada and the state of Maine. By 1200, the Niitsitapi were moving in search of more land. They moved west and settled for

4692-400: The Piikani Nation ( Aapátohsipikáni / ᖳᑫᒪᓱᑯᖿᖹ or "Northern Piikani") in Alberta . The other members of the Confederacy are the Blackfoot-speaking Káínaa / ᖿᖱᖻᖷ or Blood and the Siksiká / ᓱᖽᐧᖿ or Blackfoot , as well as the Tsuut'ina or Sarcee who only became allied later and spoke an unrelated language. At the time the treaties were signed, the Northern Peigan were situated on

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4784-406: The Queen back in London. The cabinet of John A. Macdonald (the current Prime Minister of Canada at the time) gave Crowfoot a round of applause. During the mid-1800s, the Niitsitapi faced a dwindling food supply, as European-American hunters were hired by the U.S. government to kill bison so the Blackfeet would remain in their reservation. Settlers were also encroaching on their territory. Without

4876-424: The Shoshone. Thompson reports that Blackfoot territory in 1787 was from the North Saskatchewan River in the north to the Missouri River in the South, and from Rocky Mountains in the west out to a distance of 300 miles (480 km) to the east. Between 1790 and 1850, the Nehiyaw-Pwat were at the height of their power; they could successfully defend their territories against the Sioux (Lakota, Nakota and Dakota) and

4968-446: The Siksika could hold their tribal lands along the Red Deer River . Around 1870, the alliance between the Blackfoot and the Gros Ventre broke, and the latter began to look to their former enemies, the Southern Assiniboine (or Plains Assiniboine), for protection. Anthony Henday of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) met a large Blackfoot group in 1754 in what is now Alberta . The Blackfoot had established dealings with traders connected to

5060-404: The U.S. today. With their new economic stability, the Niitsitapi have been free to adapt their culture and traditions to their new circumstances, renewing their connection to their ancient roots. The Niitsitapi, also known as the Blackfoot or Blackfeet Indians, reside in the Great Plains of Montana and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Originally, only one of the Niitsitapi tribes

5152-418: The United States and "bands" or "First Nations" in Canada). The Piegan were divided into the North Peigan in Alberta, and the South Peigan in Montana. The Confederacy had a territory that stretched from the North Saskatchewan River (called Ponoká'sisaahta ) along what is now Edmonton , Alberta, in Canada , to the Yellowstone River (called Otahkoiitahtayi ) of Montana in the United States , and from

5244-581: The United States government wanted peace with all Indian nations, and that the US leaders had successfully formed alliances with other Indian nations. The group camped together that night, and at dawn there was a scuffle as it was discovered that the Blackfoot were trying to steal guns and run off with their horses while the Americans slept. In the ensuing struggle, one warrior was fatally stabbed and another shot by Lewis and presumed killed. In subsequent years, American mountain men trapping in Blackfoot country generally encountered hostility. When John Colter ,

5336-399: The already unsettled conditions facing the Blackfoot by camping near them. They tried to spread discontent with the government and gain a powerful ally. The North-West Rebellion was made up mostly of Métis, Assiniboine (Nakota) and Plains Cree , who all fought against European encroachment and destruction of Bison herds. The Plains Cree were one of the Blackfoot's most hated enemies; however,

5428-449: The band since 1986 when a high school was built on the reserve. This is managed by the Peigan Board of Education, a non-profit society registered under the Societies Act of Alberta , comprising six trustees elected at large by the band's membership and one appointed by the band council. Scholarships and bursaries are provided by the Piikani Youth & Education Foundation with monies from the Piikani Trust Agreement (see below). The band

5520-427: The brutality of the Marias Massacre discouraged the Blackfoot from engaging in wars against Canada and the United States. When the Lakota , together with their Cheyenne and Arapaho allies, were fighting the United States Army, they sent runners into Blackfoot territory, urging them to join the fight. Crowfoot , one of the most influential Blackfoot chiefs, dismissed the Lakota messengers. He threatened to ally with

5612-399: The buffalo moved out onto the grasslands to forage on new spring growth. The Blackfoot did not follow immediately, for fear of late blizzards . As dried food or game became depleted, the bands would split up and begin to hunt the buffalo. In midsummer, when the chokecherries ripened, the people regrouped for their major ceremony, the Okan ( Sun Dance ). This was the only time of year when

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5704-633: The buffalo, preparing dried meat, and combining it for nutrition and flavor with dried fruits into pemmican , to last them through winter and other times when hunting was poor. At the end of the fall, the Blackfoot would move to their winter camps. The women worked the buffalo and other game skins for clothing, as well as to reinforce their dwellings; other elements were used to make warm fur robes, leggings, cords and other needed items. Animal sinews were used to tie arrow points and lances to throwing sticks, or for bridles for horses. The Niitsitapi maintained this traditional way of life based on hunting bison, until

5796-444: The buffalo, the Niitsitapi were forced to depend on the United States government for food supplies. In 1855, the Niitsitapi chief Lame Bull made a peace treaty with the United States government. The Lame Bull Treaty promised the Niitsitapi $ 20,000 annually in goods and services in exchange for their moving onto a reservation. In 1860, very few buffalo were left, and the Niitsitapi became completely dependent on government supplies. Often

5888-569: The common language of Blackfoot , one of the Algonquian languages family. The three were the Piikáni (historically called "Piegan Blackfeet" in English-language sources), the Káínaa (called "Bloods"), and the Siksikáwa ("Blackfoot"). They later allied with the unrelated Tsuu T'ina ("Sarcee"), who became merged into the Confederacy and, (for a time) with the Atsina, or A'aninin ( Gros Ventre ). Each of these highly decentralized peoples were divided into many bands , which ranged in size from 10 to 30 lodges , or about 80 to 240 persons. The band

5980-441: The dialect of the Blackfoot Reserve) before /i/ or /ʔ/ , and elsewhere is pronounced [æ] in the Blood Reserve dialect or [ei] in the Blackfoot Reserve dialect. The second diphthong ao is pronounced [au] before /ʔ/ and [ɔ] elsewhere. The third diphthong oi may be pronounced [y] before a long consonant and as [oi] elsewhere. Length is contrastive in Blackfoot for both vowels and consonants. Vowel length refers to

6072-403: The dialect spoken by younger speakers. Among the Algonquian languages , Blackfoot is relatively divergent in phonology and lexicon. The language has a fairly small phoneme inventory, consisting of 11 basic consonants and three basic vowels that have contrastive length counterparts. Blackfoot is a pitch accent language. Blackfoot language has been declining in the number of native speakers and

6164-421: The disease and eventually 6,000 died, marking an end to their dominance among tribes over the Plains. The Hudson's Bay Company did not require or help their employees get vaccinated; the English doctor Edward Jenner had developed a technique 41 years before but its use was not yet widespread. Like many other Great Plains Indian nations, the Niitsitapi often had hostile relationships with white settlers. Despite

6256-567: The dominating Plains Cree (called Asinaa ) and Assiniboine (called Niitsísinaa – "Original Cree"). These included the Stoney (called Saahsáísso'kitaki or Sahsi-sokitaki – ″Sarcee trying to cut″), Saulteaux (or Plains Ojibwe ), and Métis to the north, east and southeast. With the expansion of the Nehiyaw-Pwat to the north, west and southwest, they integrated larger groups of Iroquois , Chipewyan , Danezaa ( Dunneza – 'The real (prototypical) people'), Ktunaxa, Flathead, and later Gros Ventre (called atsíína – "Gut People" or "like

6348-471: The duration of a vowel and not a change in quality. The vowel /oo/ is therefore the same sound as /o/ only differing in the length of time over which it is produced. Consonants can also be lengthened with the exception of /ʔ/ , /x/ , /j/ and /w/ . Blackfoot is a pitch accent language and it is a contrastive feature in the language. Every word will have at least one high pitched vowel or diphthong but may have more than one. Note that high pitch here

6440-466: The fall, the people would gradually shift to their wintering areas. The men would prepare the buffalo jumps and pounds for capturing or driving the bison for hunting. Several groups of people might join at particularly good sites, such as Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump . As the buffalo were naturally driven into the area by the gradual late summer drying off of the open grasslands, the Blackfoot would carry out great communal buffalo kills. The women processed

6532-420: The food was spoiled by the time they received it, or supplies failed to arrive at all. Hungry and desperate, Blackfoot raided white settlements for food and supplies, and outlaws on both sides stirred up trouble. Blackfoot language There is a distinct difference between Old Blackfoot (also called High Blackfoot), the dialect spoken by many older speakers, and New Blackfoot (also called Modern Blackfoot),

6624-497: The four nations would assemble. The gathering reinforced the bonds among the various groups and linked individuals with the nations. Communal buffalo hunts provided food for the people, as well as offerings of the bulls' tongues (a delicacy) for the ceremonies. These ceremonies are sacred to the people. After the Okan , the people again separated to follow the buffalo. They used the buffalo hides to make their dwellings and temporary tipis. In

6716-791: The grasslands. The Cree and Assiniboine continued horse raiding against the Gros Ventre (in Cree: Pawistiko Iyiniwak – "Rapids People" – "People of the Rapids"), allies of the Niitsitapi. The Gros Ventres were also known as Niya Wati Inew , Naywattamee ("They Live in Holes People"), because their tribal lands were along the Saskatchewan River Forks (the confluence of North and South Saskatchewan River). They had to withstand attacks of enemies with guns. In retaliation for Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) supplying their enemies with weapons,

6808-504: The horse from other Plains tribes, probably by the early eighteenth century, which gave them expanded range and mobility, as well as advantages in hunting. The basic social unit of the Niitsitapi above the family was the band , varying from about 10 to 30 lodges, about 80 to 241 people. This size group was large enough to defend against attack and to undertake communal hunts, but was also small enough for flexibility. Each band consisted of

6900-622: The hostilities, the Blackfoot stayed largely out of the Great Plains Indian Wars, neither fighting against nor scouting for the United States army. One of their friendly bands, however, was attacked by mistake and nearly destroyed by the US Army in the Marias Massacre on 23 January 1870, undertaken as an action to suppress violence against settlers. A friendly relationship with the North-West Mounted Police and learning of

6992-435: The hunters could get close to the herd. When close enough, the hunters would attack with arrows or spears to kill wounded animals. The people used virtually all parts of the body and skin. The women prepared the meat for food: by boiling, roasting or drying for jerky . This processed it to last a long time without spoiling, and they depended on bison meat to get through the winters. The winters were long, harsh, and cold due to

7084-559: The introduction of horses, the Niitsitapi needed other ways to get in range. The buffalo jump was one of the most common ways. The hunters would round up the buffalo into V-shaped pens, and drive them over a cliff (they hunted pronghorn antelopes in the same way). Afterwards the hunters would go to the bottom and take as much meat as they could carry back to camp. They also used camouflage for hunting. The hunters would take buffalo skins from previous hunting trips and drape them over their bodies to blend in and mask their scent. By subtle moves,

7176-401: The lack of trees in the Plains, so people stockpiled meat in summer. As a ritual, hunters often ate the bison heart minutes after the kill. The women tanned and prepared the skins to cover the tepees. These were made of log poles, with the skins draped over it. The tepee remained warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and was a great shield against the wind. The women also made clothing from

7268-573: The most powerful Indian tribes on the Plains in the late 18th century, earning themselves the name "The Lords of the Plains." Niitsitapi stories trace their residence and possession of their plains territory to "time immemorial." The Niitsitapi main source of food on the plains was the American bison (buffalo), the largest mammal in North America, standing about 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 feet (2.0 m) tall and weighing up to 2,000 pounds (910 kg). Before

7360-720: The near extirpation of the bison by 1881 forced them to adapt their ways of life in response to the encroachment of the European settlers and their descendants. In the United States, they were restricted to land assigned in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 . Nearly three decades later, they were given a distinct reservation in the Sweetgrass Hills Treaty of 1887. In 1877, the Canadian Niitsitapi signed Treaty 7 and settled on reserves in southern Alberta. This began

7452-514: The needy. An individual's wealth rose with the number of horses accumulated, but a man did not keep an abundance of them. The individual's prestige and status was judged by the number of horses that he could give away. For the Indians who lived on the Plains, the principal value of property was to share it with others. After driving the hostile Shoshone and Arapaho from the Northwestern Plains,

7544-760: The only group who chose to settle in Montana. The other three Blackfoot-speaking peoples and the Sarcee are located in Alberta. Together, the Blackfoot-speakers call themselves the Niitsítapi (the "Original People"). After leaving the Confederacy, the Gros Ventres also settled on a reservation in Montana. When these peoples were forced to end their nomadic traditions, their social structures changed. Tribal nations, which had formerly been mostly ethnic associations, were institutionalized as governments (referred to as "tribes" in

7636-554: The rebellious tribe and hundreds were slaughtered. Over the next thirty years, settlers had eradicated the bison from the Great Plains. This took away the main element of Blackfoot life and the people's ability to be self-sustaining. With their main food source gone, the Blackfoot were forced to rely on government support. In 1886, the Old Sun Residential School opened on the Blackfoot Reserve in Alberta. In 1908, it

7728-399: The skins, such as robes and moccasins, and made soap from the fat. Both men and women made utensils, sewing needles and tools from the bones, using tendon for fastening and binding. The stomach and bladder were cleaned and prepared for use for storing liquids. Dried bison dung was fuel for the fires. The Niitsitapi considered the animal sacred and integral to their lives. Up until around 1730,

7820-422: The subsequent repression of their Indigenous language and culture, has been credited, in part, with the loss in the number of Blackfoot speakers. Blackfoot has nineteen consonants, of which all but /ʔ/ , /x/ , /j/ and /w/ form pairs distinguished by length. One of the two affricates /k͡s/ is unusual for being heterorganic . Blackfoot has several allophones, [ç] is a allophone of /x/ . Blackfoot has

7912-582: The tenets of Piikanissini . A court case in 2008 also allowed for the principles of Piikanissini to be invoked to prevent a candidate from running from office, rather than to remove them once in office. The court found that the elders of the community functioned like a senate , and that they were the proper body to advise the Piikani Nation Election Removals Board and the Chief Electoral Officer. The court ruled that

8004-467: The two nations made peace when Crowfoot adopted Poundmaker , an influential Cree chief and great peacemaker, as his son. Although he refused to fight, Crowfoot had sympathy for those with the rebellion, especially the Cree led by such notable chiefs as Poundmaker, Big Bear , Wandering Spirit and Fine-Day . When news of continued Blackfoot neutrality reached Ottawa, Lord Lansdowne , the governor general, expressed his thanks to Crowfoot again on behalf of

8096-402: Was an ideal organization for a hunting people on the northwestern Great Plains . During the summer, the people assembled for nation gatherings. In these large assemblies, warrior societies played an important role for the men. Membership into these societies was based on brave acts and deeds. For almost half the year in the long northern winter, the Niitsitapi lived in their winter camps along

8188-405: Was called Blackfoot or Siksika. The name is said to have come from the color of the peoples' moccasins , made of leather. They had typically dyed or painted the soles of their moccasins black. One legendary story claimed that the Siksika walked through ashes of prairie fires, which in turn colored the bottoms of their moccasins black. Due to language and cultural patterns, anthropologists believe

8280-401: Was described by an official survey as "unsanitary" and "unsuitable in every way for such an institution". Regardless, it remained operational until its closure in 1971. Dozens of Blackfoot children died while attending. The school was rife with physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, which left a lasting impact on the Blackfoot children who attended. The trauma endured by students, as well as

8372-449: Was the basic unit of organization for hunting and defence. The Confederacy occupied a large territory where they hunted and foraged; in the 19th century it was divided by the current Canada–US international border. But during the late nineteenth century, both governments forced the peoples to end their nomadic traditions and settle on " Indian reserves " (Canadian terminology) or " Indian reservations " (US terminology). The South Peigan are

8464-437: Was the limit of the now warring tribal alliances. Blackfoot war parties would ride hundreds of miles on raids. A boy on his first war party was given a silly or derogatory name. But after he had stolen his first horse or killed an enemy, he was given a name to honor him. Warriors would strive to perform various acts of bravery called counting coup , in order to move up in social rank. The coups in order of importance were: taking

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