The Blackfeet Nation, officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Montana. Tribal members primarily belong to the Piegan Blackfeet band of the larger Blackfoot Confederacy that spans Canada and the United States.
Northern boundary of the Blackfeet Tribe, Montana
Entering the reservation on U.S. Route 2
Blackfeet Indian Reservation, looking at the mountains of Glacier National Park
The Blackfoot language, also called Siksiká, often anglicised as Siksika, is an Algonquian language spoken by the Blackfoot or Niitsitapi people, who currently live in the northwestern plains of North America. There are four dialects, three of which are spoken in Alberta, Canada, and one of which is spoken in the United States: Siksiká (Blackfoot), to the southeast of Calgary, Alberta; Kainai, spoken in Alberta between Cardston and Lethbridge; Aapátohsipikani, to the west of Fort MacLeod which is Brocket (Piikani) and Aamsskáápipikani, in northwestern Montana. The name Blackfoot probably comes from the blackened soles of the leather shoes that the people wore.
Frances Densmore at a recording session with Blackfoot chief Mountain Chief in 1916
A sign at the Siksika Health and Wellness Centre in Siksika 146 reads "Oki", a Blackfoot greeting
