siksika blackfoot tribe
The Siksika (which means "Black Foot"), are a division of the blackfoot tribe in Alberta, Canada. The three Nitsitapii Tribes are the Blackfoot in Canada or Blackfeet in U.S. (Siksika), the Kainai (Blood), and the Pikuni (Peigan).
Siksika Bands
Address
Gleichen, Alberta, Canada
Phone: Fax: Official Website:
Band No: Tribal Name: Siksika Nation The term Siksika, derived from Siksikaikwan, meaning "a Blackfoot person."
Tribal Council: The Siksika Nation is governed by a chief and twelve councillors, all of whom are elected by members for two-year terms.
Tribal Alliance: Treaty 7 Management Corporation (T7MC) serves the Bearspaw, Chiniki, Kainai, Piikani, Siksika, Tsuu T'ina, and Wesley Nations.
On March 31, 2005, Treaty 7 (T7) Tribal Council was dissolved. In its place, T7 Management Corporation was created on April 1, 2005, to better meet the needs of T7 First Nation members.
In the spirit of T7 Tribal Council, T7 Management Corporation’s primary purpose is to be an advisory organization for the Nations of the Treaty 7 region of Alberta. Unlike other Tribal Councils in Alberta and across Canada, T7 Management Group does not provide program service delivery. They provide advisory services in areas of common interest to Treaty 7 First Nations. Each member First Nation is represented on the committees set up to develop the positions for the leadership to decide upon.
Bands / Clans: The basic social unit of the Blackfoot, above the family, was the band. Bands among the Peigan varied from about 10 to 30 lodges, or about 80 to 240 persons. Such bands were large enough to defend themselves against attack and to undertake small communal hunts. The band was a residential group rather than a kin group; it consisted of a respected leader, possibly his brothers and parents, and others who need not be related.
A person could leave a band and freely join another. Thus, disputes could be settled easily by simply moving to another band. As well, should a band fall upon hard times due to the loss of its leader or a failure in hunting, its members could split-up and join other bands. The system maximized flexibility and was an ideal organization for a hunting people on the Northwestern Plains.
Leadership of a band was based on consensus; that is, the leader was chosen because all people recognized his qualities. Such a leader lacked coercive authority over his followers; he led only so long as his followers were willing to be led by him. A leader needed to be a good warrior, but, most importantly, he had to be generous. The Blackfoot despised a miser! Upon the death of a leader, if there was no one to replace him, the band might break up. Bands were constantly forming and breaking-up.
Siksika bands:
Aisikstukiks
Apikaiyiks
Emitahpahksaiyiks
Motahtosiks
Puhksinahmahyiks
Saiyiks
Siksinokaks
Tsiniktsistsoyiks
Reserve: Siksika Nation is located one hour's drive east of the city of Calgary, and three kilometres south of the Trans Canada Highway #1. The Administrative and Business district are located adjacent to the Town of Gleichen, Alberta, Canada.
Reservation:
Blackfeet Reservation of Browning,Montana
Linguistic Affiliation: Algonquian - Blackfoot (in English). The language of the Niitsitapi is Niitsipussin (the Real Language). Some differences in phraseology occurs among the Niitsitapi divisons, but essentially, the language is the same.
Enrolled Population: Siksika Nation has a total population of approximately 4,200 members. Approximately 1,900 Siksika are enrolled in the Blackfeet Nation located at Browning, Montana. The Siksika are a part of the Blackfoot Confederacy which also consists of the Piikani and Kainaiwa of southern Alberta and the Blackfeet in the State of Montana.
Famous Contemporary People:
Emblem / Flag: The buffalo in the Coat was chosen as the symbolic animal of the Siksika because it provided their ancestors with food, clothing and shelter; the arrow in seven pieces represents the seven sacred religious societies in the tribe. The medicine pipe symbolizes peace and crosses the tomahawk, the weapon of war which was put to rest forever; the circles represent the duration of the treaty signed by Chief Crowfoot on September 22, 1877; as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the water flows.
The Siksika flag of Alberta, Canada incorporates the tribal emblem, along with the Union Jack flag on a white background.
An alternate version of the flag has a red background with the tribal emblem and the Union Jack is cropped into a tipi shape.
Historical Leaders: Crowfoot
Catastrophic Events: Smallpox epidemic of 1760. Smallpox epidemic of 1794. Smallpox epidemic of 1837 which killed 6,000. Smallpox epidemic of 1839. Smallpox epidemic of 1869. Starvation year of 1882 when the last buffalo hunt failed.
Ceremonies / Dances: In mid-summer, when the Saskatoon (Service) berries were ripe, the bands came together for the Sun Dance. The Sun Dance was the major tribal ceremony in historic times. Such tribal ceremonies are described as Rites of Intensification because they serve the social purpose of binding the loosely organized tribal bands together.
Communal hunts of bison provided food for the gathering and the bulls' tongues were necessary as offerings at the ceremony. This was the only time of year when all the people of the tribe assembled at the same place.
Medicine Lodge Ceremony
Clothing: The Sitsika wore leather clothing made primarily from the skins of deer, elk and buffalo.
Communities: Gleichen, Alberta, Canada Browning, Montana, USA
Crafts: Best known for basket making, quillwork, and later beadwork. The shaping of wooden utensils and bowls and an all but forgotten tradition of pottery making ties their origin with eastern woodland indians.
Creation Beliefs: The blackfoot creation story takes place directly below Glacier National Park in what is referred to as 'Badger-Two Medicine.'
Culture: The Sitsika were a nomadic people who followed a seasonal round. For almost half the year, these Blackfoot bands lived in winter camps. The bands were strung out along a wooded river valley, perhaps a day's march apart; in areas with adequate wood and game resources, some bands might camp together all winter. From about November to March, the people would not move camp unless food supplies, firewood or pasture for the horses became depleted.
In spring the bison moved out onto the Plains where the new spring grasses provided forage. The people might not follow immediately for fear of spring snowstorms. During this time they might have to live on dry food or game animals such as deer. Soon, however, the bands would leave to hunt the buffalo. During this time each band traveled separately.
After the Sun Dance, the bands again separated to pursue the buffalo. In the fall, the bands would gradually shift to their wintering areas and prepare the bison jumps and pounds. Several bands might join together at particularly good sites, such as Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. As the bison moved into the area, drawn by water and richer forage than the burned-dry summer grasses, communal kills would again occur, and the people would prepare dry meat and pemmican for winter. Such dry food stores were used as emergency supplies for those times when the bison were not near. At the end of the fall, the Blackfoot would move to their winter camp locales.
Elders: Margaret Bad Boy
Geograpical Location: With the signing of Treaty No. Seven in 1877 and the demise of the buffalo shortly thereafter, most of the Siksika Blackfoot settled on reserves in southern Alberta. Nineteen hundred of them are now gathered on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana, the rest being in the adjacent Canadian province of Alberta. Associated with them are two smaller tribes, the Arapaho Gros Ventres and the Sarsi.
Historical Government: By the time the Blackfeet established their extensive territory in the northwest region, they were organized as a loose confederacy of three politically independent tribes, comprising a southern division called the PEIGAN (Pikuni or Poor Robes) now living in Montana, a central division called the Bloods (Kainai), or Many Chiefs) and the North Blackfeet (Siksika or Blackfoot). Each band was led by a Blackfeet Chief. The two latter tribes now reside on reserves in the province of Alberta Canada. These three tribes shared a common culture, spoke the same language, held a common territory and made war on each other's enemies.
Historical Houses: The Siksika lived in portable homes called tipis, a pole structure covered with buffalo hides.
Legends
Pow Wows:
Religion: The principle deity is most often referred to as "Old Man." Spiritual beliefs and ceremonies were an important part of the Blackfoot culture. Their religious life centered upon medicine bundles which were individually owned and originated from a supernatural experience.
It was the adolescent warrior who attempted the vision quest by going to a remote area and fasting until he had a vision.
He would be given a war song or dance by a guardian spirit and be told of the magical amulets (such as feathers, birds' beaks, or stones) that should be worn to give him power.
Most failed and did not have a vision, in which case they would buy a bundle and its ritual.
Individual bundles acquired much respect and gave its owner prestige, especially those associated with war such as headdresses and shields.
One of the most important bundles to the Blackfoot group as a whole was the Sun
Dance bundle. Each year the blackfoot bands, who usually lived separately, would gather all together to observe the Sun Dance, the principal religious ceremony.
Sacred Places: Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump Badger-Two Medicine
Societies: During the summer when the bands assembled for tribal ceremonies and hunting, the warrior societies would become active. These societies, known as Pan-tribal Sodalities, are a very interesting social institution. Membership was not based on kinship ties. Membership crosscut the bands and was purchased.
A number of young men would purchase membership in the lowest society. Throughout their lives, they would continue to purchase membership in higher societies while selling their old positions to the new generation. These warrior societies acted as a police force, regulating camp moves and the communal hunt.
Religious Societies:
Black Soldier
Brave Dog
Crow
Horn
Ma'tsiyiiks
Motoki
Prairie Chicken
Subsistence: The Sitsika were hunter - gatherers. Their main food source was the buffalo.
Traditional Enemies: The Blackfeet, the premier warrior tribe of the northern plains, were battling almost everyone on the prairies by the 1800s. Their large numbers, horse skills and marksmanship enabled them to be the dominant tribe on Montana's northern plains. Primary enemies of the blackfoot were the Crow, Groz Ventres, Flathead, Kootenai, Nez Perce, Seneca, and Shoshone indians.
Traditional Territory: The relations of the Blackfoot language to others in the Algonquian language family indicate that the Blackfoot lived in an area west of the Great Lakes. Though they practiced some agriculture, they were partly nomadic. They moved westward partially because of the introduction of horses and guns and became a part of the Plains Indians culture in the early 1800s. However, there is evidence that they were near the rocky mountain front for thousands of years before European contact.
The Siksika Blackfoot, fiercely independent and very successful warriors, controlled a vast region stretching from the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta to Yellowstone River of Montana, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Cypress Hills on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. It was not until the coming of the North West Mounted Police in 1874, over 110 years ago, that Euro-Canadian settlement in the region began. Until the near extinction of the buffalo in 1881, the Blackfoot pursued their traditional lifeways. Only with the loss of their food supply were they obliged to adapt to the new era.
Nitsitapii - Siksika - Kainai - Bloods - Pikuni - Piegans - Saxsiiwak
The Siksika flag of Alberta, Canada incorporates the tribal emblem, along with the Union Jack flag on a white background.
An alternate version of the flag has a red background with the tribal emblem and the Union Jack is cropped into a tipi shape. 
