The Beaver People

Also known as Tsattine, the “dwellers among the beavers.” Cousins to the Slavey, Chipewyan and Sarcee, who all speak similar Athapaskan-rooted languages, the Beavers originally inhabited a vast territory between the present-day Alberta–Saskatchewan border and the Peace River. However, the Cree drove them west, aided by the firearms that the Europeans brought to the new world. Subsequently, the Beaver peoples hunted game (moose being a dietary staple) throughout the Peace River country, extending as far as the Rocky Mountains. They were known as exceptional hunters and, although they had a reputation as being a peaceful people, were not lacking in skill when war became necessary. The Beaver peoples, their numbers wracked by disease and starvation, were the last band to sign Treaty 8 in May, 1900.

Blackfoot Nation

One of the best known of the northern tribes, the Blackfoot were the first nation to meet the fur traders. Also known as the “Siksika,” this nation has lived on the Plains for generations.

Blood Nation

A nomadic tribe known in their native tongue as Kai-nau or “Many Chiefs.” They followed the buffalo, hunting them by foot and, after 1700, on horseback. Horses became an integral component of their way of life, broadening their territory, increasing their wealth and inspiring aggression. Prior to 1860 and the infiltration of the whiskey-traders, the tribe began to lose its cohesion. Alcohol degenerated the tribe to the level of poverty. The decline of the buffalo combined with alcoholism, disease and persistent warring led them to the 1877 treaty talks with the federal government at Blackfoot Crossing on the Bow River.