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Blackfeet Nation. The Blackfeet Nation (Blackfoot: Aamsskáápipikani, Pikuni), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, [4] is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Montana. Tribal members primarily belong to the Piegan Blackfeet (Ampskapi Piikani) band ...
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www.britannica.com · topic · Blackfoot-peopleBlackfoot | History, Culture, Tribe, Nation, & Language
- Overview
- Language
- Precontact history and culture
- The 19th and 20th centuries
- The 21st century
Blackfoot, Indigenous North American tribe composed of three closely related bands, the Piegan (officially spelled Peigan in Canada), or Piikuni; the Blood, or Kainah (also spelled Kainai or Akainiwa); and the Siksika, or Blackfoot proper (often referred to as the Northern Blackfoot). The three groups, often called the Blackfoot confederacy, tradit...
The Blackfoot language (Siksikáí’powahsin) is a member of the Algonquian language family. It consists of four mutually intelligible varieties, each corresponding to a modern reserve or reservation. The language is endangered: although it is still used across multiple generations, children are typically not proficient in the language. In 2021 there ...
The early history of the Blackfoot is unclear. Early scholars in particular believed, on the basis of linguistic evidence, that the Blackfoot migrated from the Great Lakes region to the Great Plains sometime after the 17th century. However, later archaeological finds, along with a reevaluation of the linguistic evidence, shows continuities in Blackfoot material culture going back to at least the beginning of the 16th century, with some scholars arguing earlier dates.
By the early 18th century the Blackfoot were pedestrian buffalo hunters living in the Saskatchewan valley about 400 miles (645 km) east of the Rocky Mountains. They lived as nomads on the Plains, using wooden travois drawn by dogs to transport their goods, including their painted buffalo-hide tepees, particularly prior to the introduction of the horse in the early 18th century.
At the height of their power, in the first half of the 19th century, the Blackfoot confederacy held a vast territory extending from northern Saskatchewan to the southernmost headwaters of the Missouri River. They were known as one of the strongest and most aggressive military powers on the northwestern Plains. For a quarter of a century after 1806 they prevented British, French, and American fur traders, whom they regarded as poachers, from trapping in the rich beaver country of the upper tributaries of the Missouri. At the same time, they warred with neighboring tribes, capturing horses and taking captives.
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The late 1800s and early 1900s were a time of decline for the Blackfoot confederacy. In 1855 those in the United States signed their first treaty with the U.S. government, which established a reservation for the Blackfoot. In spite of this treaty, American settlers continued to move into the area in search of ranch land and mineral resources for mining, which resulted in conflicts between the Blackfoot and the settlers. During this period the buffalo, a main food source for the Blackfoot, was hunted nearly to extinction. In the Starvation Winter of 1883–84 almost 600 Blackfoot in Montana died—nearly a quarter of the total number of Blackfoot in Montana at that time—along with about 1,000 individuals in Canada. Subsequent decades saw the gradual dwindling of Blackfoot tribal land, with what is now Glacier National Park ceded in 1896 in exchange for government annuities. The Blackfoot in Canada likewise entered into agreements with the government, such as Treaty 7 in 1877, which created a reserve for each of the three bands. Each of these reserves was altered after its creation: the Piegan and Blood reserves were moved in the late 19th century and the Canadian government pressured the Siksika to sell a large portion of their land to it in 1910.
In 2020 about 35,000 people living in the United States identified themselves as having only Blackfoot ancestry, while about 300,000 others claimed Blackfoot and other Native American ancestry. In 2023 there were about 25,000 members registered in Canada to three Blackfoot entities: the Piikani Nation, with a registered population of 3,915; the Sik...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Their teepee entrances always faced east.
- They were masters of many art forms, such as embroidery, basket making, painting, and beading.
- They painted designs on the outsides of their teepees.
- The historic collective name for all of the linguistically connected people who make up the Blackfeet tribe is Niitsitapi.
Aug 17, 2023 · The Blackfeet Trail Tour is a self-guided route that meanders 70 miles through the Blackfeet Nation and includes 15 sites, each marked by roadside markers. Blackfeet Heritage Center The Blackfeet Heritage Center & Art Gallery has interesting exhibits, as well as a large variety of arts, crafts and jewelry, with work from 16 North American ...
The reservation is home to 56% of the enrolled tribal members and is the largest Indian population in Montana. There are three branches of the Blackfeet peoples-the Northern Blackfeet (Siksika), the Blood and the Piegan or Pikuni. The tribe call themselves "Niitsitapi" (nee-itsee-TAH-peh) meaning "the real people."
Oct 23, 2023 · Today, the Blackfeet Indian Reservation occupies the beautiful, rolling hills that extend off the eastern slopes of Glacier National Park, including part of Chief Mountain, an unmistakable and stunning peak on the western edge of the reservation that is sacred to the tribe. It’s a core piece of the tribe’s ancestral lands, where they once ...
Apr 25, 2017 · The Blackfeet Indian tribe consists of four nations including Siksika, Northern Piegan, Southern Piegan, and Kainai who are also called the Blood Indians. The four nations have been banded together to form the Blackfoot Confederacy with the aim of helping and protecting one another. The Blackfeet tribe is sometimes referred to as nations since ...
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