The radical transformations attendant upon the imposition of colonial rule on the Siksikaitsitapi or Blackfoot of northern Alberta and southern Montana are examined in this dissertation in order to emphasise the threads of continuity within a tapestry of cultural change c.1870-1920. The dissertation traces cultural persistence through the analysis of texts of history and literature that constructed Blackfoot subjectivity in the half-century following the end of traditional lifeways and settlement on three reserves in Canada and one reservation in the United States of America. This interdisciplinary thesis has been undertaken jointly in the School of History and Philosophy, and the School of English, Media and Performance Studies. It combines the tools of historical research and literary criticism to analyse the discourses and counter-discourses that served to construct Blackfoot subjectivity in colonial texts. It engages with the ways in which the Blackfoot navigated colonisation and resisted forced acculturation while adopting strategies of accommodation to ensure social reproduction and even physical survival in this period. To this end, it presents four case studies, each focusing on a discrete process of Blackfoot cultural transformation: a) the resistance to acculturation and cultural revitalisation as it relates to the practice of Ookaan (Sun Dance); b) the power shifts ushered in by European contact and the intersection between power and Blackfoot dress practices; c) the participation of Blackfoot "organic intellectuals" in the construction of Blackfoot history through the transformation of oral stories into text via the ethnographic encounter; and d) the continuing links between Blackfoot history and literature, and contemporary fictional representations of Blackfoot subjectivity by First Nations authors. This thesis acknowledges that Blackfoot history and literature have been constructed through a complex matrix of textual representations from their earliest contacts with Europeans. This dissertation is a study of the intersection between textual representations of the Blackfoot, and resistance, persistence and cultural revitalisation 1870-1920. It seeks to contribute to debates on the capacity of the colonised Other to exercise agency. It engages with views articulated by organic intellectuals, and Blackfoot and other First Nations scholars, in order to foster a dialogue between Blackfoot and non-Blackfoot scholarship.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Calgary, 1999. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation examines the uses, functions, and meaningfulness of traditional personal names and naming practices in Niitsitapi (Blackfoot Indian) culture. The current study indicates that Niitsitapi personal names appear to play a major role in capturing and conveying various aspects of traditional Niitsitapi sociocultural knowledge. Niitsitapi personal names thus appear to form an integral part of Niitsitapi oral tradition, and also seem to play a powerful role in establishing and maintaining Niitsitapi conceptualisations of individual, as well as social and cultural, identity. This dissertation supports the position that, in addition to their nominative function, names contain and communicate sociocultural meaning, based on their associations with a wide range of non-linguistic factors which form part of the sociocultural environment within which they are used. The methodological approach stresses the importance of studying personal names in cultural context and strongly emphasises the use of indigenous knowledge as a means of explaining personal naming phenomena from a native cultural perspective. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M. A. (Sociolinguistics)

In Canada and New Zealand there are increasing calls for recognition of aboriginal rights which previously were ignored or denied because of the application of English law to concepts of property rights and ownership. English legal principles are vitally important in Canadian and New Zealand society, but there has always been room for local adaptations which could have recognised the existing practices and rights of the indigenous peoples. The English law makes various assumptions about ownership of rivers, dividing them into bed, banks and water, and applying various tests of adjoining occupation, tidalness and navigability to determine rights. Aboriginal property rights have been guaranteed and protected by various mechanisms such as government policy, treaty, and the courts, but there is uncertainty about the status of rivers. The form of the survey definition of reserves and rivers is also fundamental to how property rights may be determined. This thesis examines the situation of rivers in Canada and New Zealand through common law, treaty provisions and through what is now, a developing body of applicable and recognised customary/Aboriginal law. From these three legal foundations, a case study approach focuses on the practical situation of the Siksika people on the Bow River in southern Alberta, and the Kai Tahu on the Taieri River in Otago. This investigation concludes that there are various legal mechanisms by which indigenous people may claim rights to the rivers with which they have a relationship; by resorting to English common law principles; by applying new and developing conceptualisations of customary and aboriginal rights doctrines; by appealing to tribunals examining treaty agreements; or by direct negotiation with the Crown. All of these processes require evidence of past and current relationships, use and occupation of rivers by the indigenous claimants. Current undisputed possession and control may be a satisfactory outcome, but ultimately an acknowledgement of ownership may depend on politically negotiated settlements.

This thesis compares the ancient games played by the Blackfoot confederacy and the Hopi Pueblos and examines their contemporary application. A literature review resulted in the aggregation of 34 Blackfoot games and 34 Hopi games. The 68 games were clustered into games of dexterity, guessing games, amusement, and games in legend. Twenty games were selected to be compared in the areas of equipment, purpose of play, how the game was played, number of participants, the gender allowed to play, the age of participants, season of play, the length of time to play the game, scoring, and how a winner was declared. This study also examines, through the literature review, personal communication and Internet information that the ancient games of the Blackfoot and the Hopi have contemporary application, which may be achieved with slight variations. Additional information on the composition, origins, linguistic families, possible tribal associations, and some European encounters of the Blackfoot and the Hopi was provided. This information is included as context to aid in the exclusion of games that may have been adopted from the Europeans. The thesis concludes there is an urgent need to identify the ancient games of Blackfoot and Hopi before knowledgeable elders are gone. Also it is recommended that this not be the end of the study of the games, but that it only be a beginning on which to build. / xiii, 116 leaves ; 29 cm.

The objective of this thesis is to examine the archival documents that may be considered by the Supreme Court of Canada if the Treaty 7 Nations were to challenge the Federal Government on the Treaty’s content and meaning. The impetus for this thesis is two-fold. Firstly, recent decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada, in relation to Aboriginal historical treaties, have demonstrated a shift towards legally recognizing the sovereignty of First Nations. As more First Nations challenge the Federal Government on their fulfillment of treaty obligations, Supreme Court decisions will become more elaborate and exhaustive, providing many Nations with an opportunity to address treaty concerns in a more substantive manner than in the past. Secondly, the Blackfoot are my neighbours and I am very honoured to relay part of their story. / 375 leaves ; 29 cm.