Across Canada and the United States there are many First Nations languages which are a part of the Algonquian language family, all of which with varying states of health. Although these languages share many characteristics of the Algonquian language family, the cultures, systems of beliefs, and geographic location of their respective Nations differentiate them. In being shaped by the landscape, cultures, and spirituality of the First Nations, the language brings the speakers closer to their land and traditions while reaffirming their identity as First Peoples. Using the Blackfoot Nation to further explore this concept, this paper will show that while language threads together First Nations culture, spirituality, …show more content…
For example the Kainai, which means “many leaders”, did not choose to be referred to as the Blood Nation (Bastien 2004, 10). There are many explanations as to how the Kanai became widely referred to as the Blood Peoples. One explanation is that it comes from a Cree term used to describe the Kanai by the red paint, which looks like blood, that is used in ceremony to paint their face and hands red. A second explanation is there was a mistranslation of a term used to describe the Kanai as wearers of white weasel pelts, to wearers of blood (Bastien 2004, 10). This mistranslation comes from the similarities of the words for blood and the term used to describe the changing of the white weasel pelts to white with the seasons (Bastien 2004, 10). In this case, the Kanai, through the use of their language are asserting their preference to be known as the “many chiefs,” over the Blood Peoples or the “wearers of blood.” Though today, the Blackfoot territory is defined by reserve/reservation boundaries and divided by the United States-Canadian border, their homeland, Nitawahsinnanni (“our land”), continues to be defined by topographical features using their language (The Blackfoot Gallery Committee, 2013, 12). This traditional homeland spans from the North Saskatchewan River (Ponokasisahta, the Elk River) as far south as the Yellowstone River, Montana (Otahkoitahtayi) and from the Rocky Mountains as far East as the “Great Sand Hills
In this article, “ From Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life,” by David Treuer, he talks about the struggles that Native Americans have gone through. Mr. Treuer brings to the reader’s attention the struggles that most people don’t even realize have happened. Mr. Treuer has one big struggle that is still happening today that needs help to change, which is the lack of Native American language. This is such a high priority struggle due to the fact that without Native American language, there is a loss of heritage.
Black Elk plays a major role in retelling the history of the Lakota Native Americans. Having witnessed the Battle of Little Bighorn and living through the transfer of Native Americans to the Pine Ridge Reservation, Black Elk can attest to the treatment endured by Native Americans. Black Elk tells the story of a people injured in war and subject to sufferings for the years to follow.
Keith H. Basso’s Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache delivers a strong message regarding human connections between place, identity, and origins in relation to the idea of place-names. Every place evokes an association to a story and/or a person/ancestor bearing a moral message that allows the Western Apache to shape their beliefs, behaviors, identities, etc. It is through this connection to the land that the Apache begin to define their understanding of their lives.
The Blackfoot People are one of the many Native American Indian tribes that roamed America in the early 1700s. Like many tribes they were nomadic hunters that lived in the Great Plains of Montana and the Canadian provinces of Alberta. The name is said to have come from the colour of the peoples shoes that were made of leather. They had typically dyed or painted the soles of their shoes black.
For the purpose of this project, our group has decided to focus on Native American culture and their non-verbal communication patterns. We chose to focus on Native American culture due to their unique methods of communication. What makes this culture so distinct is the way in which they encompass their values into their communication methods. Their communication methods are unlike most cultures and are even utilized within Western culture in modern day.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe currently fights to save its only water source from natural gas and oil contamination. This troubling current event has a somewhat forgotten historical analogue where very similar themes presented themselves. The Kinzua Dam Controversy, which took place in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, resulted in the displacement of over 600 Seneca Indian families and the acquisition of a large tract of traditional Seneca Land for dam building. Additionally, the acquisition of Seneca land represented a breach of “The Treaty with the Six Nations of 1794,” which explicated prevented such action by the US Government. The dam and its construction, which primarily benefitted Pittsburg, inspired a heated discourse concerning the ethics of native relocation.
Don’t be confused when an Indian tribe is called the Chippewa or the Ojibway because they are the same tribe. French settlers could not pronounce Ojibway correctly so they called the tribe the Chippewa. Have you ever wanted to know about the Ojibway Indians? If you read on, you will learn many interesting facts about this tribe.
Painted rock in the Tule river indian reservation in the foothills of the sierra nevadas. Might have the earliest painting of bigfoot.”This rock art site is unique;
The tale of Bigfoot or Sasquatch traces its origins back to the Native American tribes of the Northwestern part of the United States and Canada. The natives told this tale of a group of giant hairy wild ape-man like people that protect the forests to give reason for respecting nature and preserve order. Bigfoot sightings have spread throughout the United States and the world. Our fascination with this creature have spiraled into almost mass hysteria among people to find and prove this creature is real. I decided to observe and analyze the film Bigfoot.
"My People the Sioux" is a good literary work written in 1928. This book leaves an everlasting impression with some because it definitely intensifies the sympathy for the Indians. Luther Standing Bear, also known as Plenty Kill, portrays the dramatic and traumatic changes about the Sioux throughout their traditional way of life. As a young boy growing up, he experienced many of these hardships first hand between his people and the whites. This autobiography is quite valuable as it helps allow us to envision what really happened in the battling times of the Indians. Luther stated this quote, which to me, is unforgettable and very well said. It reads:
The historical literature of First Nations and Peoples’, within North America, have shown inaccuracies and a lack of certain components. This being said, the contents of written history often reflect the points of view of those who have written it; the majority of the historical records composed appear to be homogenized, and
For over a 150 years man has been troubled by one great mystery, a mystery that has baffled all who have witnessed it and all who have tried to solve it. This mystery is commonly known as Bigfoot, a tall hairy man/ape who lurks in the woods in almost every country on this planet. Some say it is just an ape, some believe it is a man in costume, and others are true believers of this hairy phenomenon. For more than a decade and a half this creature of myth has caused enormous contradictions in the field of science, bringing about one question. Does Bigfoot exist?
die. The Red Chief was also in charge of the lacrosse games which were called
Bigfoot exists because there have been over 5163 reports considered credible by the Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO) in the US and Canada alone. Bigfoot hasn’t been proven to exist because a large animal like him would want to be as far away as possible from humans because we create a competition that it can’t compete with. Therefore Bigfoot has been driven into remote areas where the people in that area don’t have access to the resources to be able to report sightings which causes a lack of vital information in being able to determine the range of where the bigfoots live and what kind of environment they prefer. There is a trend that Bigfoot sightings increase in occurrence in and around military bases and other large areas of land with restricted access to the general public.
Bigfoot is a mythical legend that lives in the pacific northwest. Many people believe that Bigfoot is real, and others deny the existence of Bigfoot. People have made a living in trying to find Bigfoot. Animal Planet used to air a show called “Finding Bigfoot.”. There are multiple books about Bigfoot, numerous clubs, and many people dedicated to find the elusive Bigfoot. To become a Bigfoot quester you will need to obtain the knowledge of how the myth of Bigfoot surfaced, what Bigfoot is, and the evidence behind Bigfoot.