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member Blackfoot Confederacy Travel through southern Alberta and Montana for the three-day Niitsipowahsin language The conference was hosted by Red Crow Community College in Stand Off.
The conference featured keynote speeches, speeches by community members, and awards, all aimed at highlighting the importance of protecting the Blackfoot language (Niitsipowahsin).
Blood Tribe chief Roy Fox, whose traditional name is Makiinima, said language is the “cornerstone” of Blackfoot identity.
“If we completely lose our language, we are no longer who we claim to be,” Fox said.
Fox believes that teaching the language to children and young adults in the Blackfoot Nation is essential to keeping it alive.
“We’re told that the best time to learn language is when you’re two, three or four years old,” Fox said.
“We are following this approach and it is working very well.”
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In addition to providing education for preschoolers, Fox said the Red Crow Academy and Blood School system offer programs featuring teachings from Nitsipoisin speakers, respected elders and spiritual mentors.
These teachers not only help students understand Blackfoot, but they also help them learn to speak and respond.
Fox encouraged young members of the Blackfoot Alliance to “not feel inferior” when learning their ancestral language.
“Take it as a challenge, learn more,” Fox said with a smile.
Rising to the challenge is Doricia Healy, 18, who goes by her traditional name Little Beaver Woman. The Blood Tribe teen said she has been learning the basics of the language from her grandparents, such as prayers, commands and introductions.
“That’s how I learned commands — they would tell me in Blackfoot to get something,” Healy said. “Then, I had to figure out what they meant.”
Healy spoke at Tuesday’s conference and told attendees she was inspired to learn the Blackfoot language through traditional singing and drumming.
“I feel like now is the time for the younger generation to start learning (the language) so we can pass it on to future generations,” Healy said.
According to Fox, about 2,700 of the Blood Clan’s 13,000 members can speak Blackfoot fluently.
The Niitsipowahsin language conference will conclude Thursday afternoon.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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