buffalo

The Salish Tribes: History, Culture, and Traditions

Picture of Salish tribes

Origins and Migration of the Salish Tribes The Salish tribes, often referred to collectively as the Interior Salish or Pacific Coast Salish, depending on region, are part of a larger language family known as the Salishan languages. These peoples traditionally lived across a wide swath of the Pacific Northwest, including what is now Montana, Idaho, Washington, British Columbia, and parts of Oregon. Linguistic evidence suggests that the Salishan peoples may have originated along the Pacific Coast, gradually migrating inland over…

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Truth and consequences on the reservation–the Elouise Cobell story

Elouise Cobell on the Blackfeet Reservation

Elouise Cobell (Yellow Bird Woman) heard the stories for years: the government was cheating Native Americans on payments for land rights. She took up the cause, and now the Blackfoot Indians are poised to reap billions. In Blackfoot country, passing down stories from one generation to the next is an intricate part of tribal culture. The people who live here at the foot of the Montana Rockies pride themselves on the accuracy of this oral tradition. In the spring, when…

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The Blackfoot Language: A Window into the Culture and History of the Blackfoot People

Blackfoot language territory map and flags

The Blackfoot language is a member of the Algonquian language family and is spoken by the Blackfoot people in North America. It is an indigenous language that is predominantly spoken in Alberta, Canada, and also in Montana, USA. The Blackfoot language has two main dialects: Siksika and Kainai. It is an endangered language with only a few thousand speakers remaining, mainly elderly people.

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Roman Nose, Cheyenne war chief

Henry Roman Nose (Vohko Xenehe) 1823-1868 was Northern Cheyenne Chief.

Roman Nose (c. 1823 – September 17, 1868), also known as Hook Nose (Cheyenne: Vóhko’xénéhe, also spelled Woqini and Woquini), was a Native American war chief of the Northern Cheyenne tribe. He was called Môséškanetsénoonáhe (“Bat”) as a youth. He later took the warrior name Wokini, which the whites rendered as Roman Nose. Considered invincible in combat, this fierce warrior distinguished himself in battle to such a degree that the U.S. military mistook him for the Chief of the entire Cheyenne nation. He…

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