wayfinders circle governance report english - Flipbook - Page 31
a) The Blackfeet/Blackfoot Confederacy |
CANADA & THE UNITED STATES
The Blackfeet traditional territory covers vast expanses of Canada and the United States, shaped by a series of treaties signed
between the Blackfeet and the colonial powers of Canada and the United States. The Blackfeet reservation is one of the largest
reservations in the United States, and Blackfoot lands include a similarly large expanse in southern Canada. The terms Blackfeet
and Blackfoot refer to the same people—more commonly they refer to themselves as the Blackfoot in Canada and the Blackfeet
in the United States. In Canada, the Blackfoot Confederacy serves as a Tribal Council for Kainai-Blood Tribe, Siksika, and
Aapatohsi (Northern) Piikani First Nations. The Blackfoot Confederacy was established to bring together the three Blackfoot
Nations of Canada to work on common issues with external entities. It also serves as the international coordinating body for all
the Blackfeet Indigenous nations in Canada and the United States—where the Aamskapi (Southern) Pikani reside—and includes
representatives from Blackfeet governance institutions in both countries.
Blackfeet lands have abundant natural resources, including vast forestlands, grasslands, and mountain areas. In the United States
alone these lands are home to numerous species of fish and wildlife, and have more than 518 miles of streams and 180 bodies of
water, including eight large lakes. The traditional collective territory in the United States includes all of Glacier National Park and
the Badger-Two Medicine Area on US Forest Service land, as well; and the original United States reservation encompassed most
of the northern half of Montana. The Blackfeet see themselves as caretakers of much of North America’s water resources, as rivers
flow down from the Blackfeet reservation and Glacier National Park east to the Atlantic, west to the Pacific, and north to the
Arctic. Traditionally, Blackfeet women owned the homes and led religious practices, and the men were political leaders. However,
this continues to evolve as women take on more public leadership roles.
02
RANGELANDS
In the United States, the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council is the governing body of the Blackfeet Nation, responsible for
state-to-state relations with the United States, and is responsible for exercising all powers of government under the Blackfeet
Constitution and By-laws. They have a strong record of land management, grazing and agriculture rights, complex investments,
and relations with the national and state governments. Alongside the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council, more traditional responsibilities are held by the Buffalo Bull Children Horn Society. As is common among some North American Indigenous peoples, the
Blackfeet employ a number of governance entities—some responsible for representing them in nation-to-nation relations with
the US or Canadian government, and others responsible for other elements of Blackfeet culture.
Within the territory are the Blackfeet Reservation lands, as well as Blackfeet-owned individual land plots, and non-Indigenous
private land plots, along with some protected areas and traditional lands. In the United States, the Blackfeet have a history of
reclaiming rights to the traditional lands and regaining rights to rangeland while actively engaging with the United States government. Of particular interest are special rights to the sacred Badger-Two Medicine area, bordering both the Blackfeet Reservation
and Glacier National Park. The Badger-Two Medicine area is the home of the Blackfeet creation story, and has continued to be a
place of refuge and healing for more than 10,000 years. These sacred lands were slated to be leased to oil and gas companies, a
move the Blackfeet were able to stop along with their allies.
Today the Blackfeet are on the forefront of a movement to
re-introduce buffalo to traditional rangelands, strengthening their ties to ancient traditional ways.
Blackfeet
Tribe Confederacy
GOVERNANCE REPORT
|
APRIL 2022
31
