Tidbits to Know
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- The basic social structure of the Blackfoot was the band. Bands could vary in size from very large to no more than a few families. Bands were not always based on kinship ties and people could freely move from one band to another. All bands had a leader who was chosen by consensus. The leader had to be a good warrior and be generous.
- The Blackfoot were fierce warriors and successful hunters and they initially controlled a vast territory from the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta to Yellowstone River in Montana, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Cypress Hills on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border.
- Many Métis people speak Michif.
Alberta was the only province to keep records of Métis inhabitants.
- Aboriginal groups in Alberta prior to the fur trade era
- Blackfoot
- Blood
- Peigan
- Gros Ventre
- Shoshoni
- Kootenay
- Crow
- Sarcee
- Beaver
- Slavey
- Cree
- Chipewyan
- Fur traders brought many important items with them when they arrived in Canada. One of the most influential items on Aboriginal lifestyle was the gun. The introduction of the gun allowed for easier hunting, but also resulted in increased violence and fighting
- Henry Kelsey, a trader with the Hudson’s Bay Company, was the first European to see the Canadian prairies in 1691.
- Anthony Henday travelled with the Assiniboine south of Red Deer around 1750.
- There are approximately 60,000 Métis living in Alberta.
- There are eight Métis settlements or colonies in Alberta.
- Pikuni or Peigan means ‘scabby robes’ after a legend about improperly prepared buffalo hides.
- Canada’s name is derived from the Iroqouian term ‘Kanata’ referring to the region around Quebec City. According to popular belief, in 1535 two young Iroquoian boys were returning with Jacques Cartier after a year in France. Upon scanning the shoreline from the ship’s deck, the two boys began to exclaim ‘kanata, kanata!’, which Cartier translated to mean ‘homeland’.
- The term ‘Blackfoot’ actually refers to three tribes
- Siksika or Blackfoot proper
- Kainai or Bloods
- Pekuni or Peigan
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