Heritage Community Foundation Presents
Alberta Online Encyclopedia


Kainah (Blood)

The Kainah are closely related to the Pekuni and Siksika and speak a slight variation of the Blackfoot language. They once occupied hunting grounds from the Red Deer River south to the Belly River (Can Encyc.) but by the mid-1800s had moved to a smaller area between Pakowki Lake and the Belly River. This region became a centre for Montana whiskey traders in the 1870s to the detriment of the Kainah community (Palmer, p. 34). After the signing of Treaty Seven many Kainah continued to pursue a traditional way of life. In 1878 a prairie fire sent buffalo into Montana. The Kainah followed and took part in what has been referred to as the last great buffalo hunt. "Starving and bewildered the Bloods began drifting back to Canada early in 1880 and camped near Fort Macleod" (Dempsey, p. 22-27).


Albertasource.ca | Contact Us | Partnerships
            For more on place names of Alberta, visit Peel’s Prairie Provinces.

Copyright © Heritage Community Foundation All Rights Reserved