The Transferring of Knowledge from Miistakists

Mike Bruised Head, Chief Bird, discusses his ongoing effort to restore Niitsitapi, Blackfoot, names to mountains, coulees, and communities on traditional Blackfoot territory.

Online Presentation, Indigenous HistoryMike Bruised HeadJanuary 5, 2021Galt Museum & ArchivesMountains, Mike Bruised Head, Blackfoot language, Blackfoot history, Blackfoot, Blackfoot geography, Sacred Blackfoot Sites, Blackfoot Geography, NiitsitapiComment

Niitsitapi and Epidemics

The Niitsitapi, or Blackfoot people, have been hit repeatedly by epidemics. Rebecca Many Grey Horses shares her research about the impact of smallpox, measles, scarlet fever and the Spanish flu.

Siksikaitsitapi: Blackfoot People’s Voices

Join a small group of students as they participate in the Siksikaitsitapi: Blackfoot People’s Voices school program with Blanche Bruisedhead.

Online Presentation, Indigenous HistoryBlanche BruisedheadNovember 26, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesBlackfoot, Language, History, Culture, Worldview, Indigenous HistoryComment

Piikanikoan with Ira Provost

Guest curator Ira Provost will explain the significance of his winter count and discuss his songs that are featured in the exhibit in this online presentation.

Online Presentation, Indigenous HistoryIra ProvostOctober 5, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesThe Galt Presents, Exhibit, Ira Provost, Guest Curator, Presentation, lecture, PiikanikoanComment

Constructing the Fort

William Gladstone (“Old Glad”) was the head carpenter and blacksmith at Fort Whoop-Up. He was a former carpenter and boat builder for the Hudson’s Bay Company, and he was hired in Fort Benton in the early summer of 1870 for the two-year project of building the bigger, more permanent Fort Whoop-Up.

Article, Indigenous HistoryGalt Museum & ArchivesSeptember 15, 2020Fort Whoop-UpFort 150, Gladstone, Cottonwood, Trading, Blackfoot, Fort Benton, Whoop-Up, Fort Whoop-Up, Flag, Northwest Mounted Police, Cannon Comment

Ákáí’nissko (Many Deaths Place)

Niitsitapi used the area at the junction of the St. Mary and Belly, or Oldman, Rivers as a winter camp. The site was located along part of a traditional migration route known as the Old North Trail. It was known as Ákáí’nissko (Many Deaths Place).

Article, Indigenous HistoryGalt Museum & ArchivesSeptember 8, 2020Fort Whoop-UpSmalpox, Epidemic, Tepee, Stone Circles, Fort Whoop-Up, Whoop-Up TrailComment

Crossing the Border

Who built Fort Whoop-Up and why? #FortWhoopUp150

Article, Indigenous HistoryGalt Museum & ArchivesSeptember 2, 2020Fort Whoop-UpCivil War, Gold, Montana, Hamilton, Healy, Fort 150, FortComment

Traditional Ways of Living

What are the traditional ways of living of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) Fort Whoop-Up tells visitors about the history, culture and traditions of the Niitsitapi.

Article, Indigenous HistoryGalt Museum & ArchivesAugust 26, 2020Fort Whoop-UpFort 150, Indigenous History, Blackfoot, Lethbridge, Southern AlbertaComment

Sacred Blackfoot Sites

Rebecca Many Grey Horses discusses the importance of several sites including Chief Mountain, Crowsnest peak, Devil's Thumb, the Sweetgrass Hills, Writing-on-Stone, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, as well as the significance of medicine wheels and tepee rings.

Online Presentation, Indigenous HistoryRebecca Many Grey HorsesAugust 10, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesBlackfoot language, Blackfoot history, Blackfoot, Chief Mountain, Crowsnest peak, Devil's Thumb, Sweetgrass Hills, Writing-on-Stone, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo JumpComment

Blackfoot Women: Keepers of the Ways and Pillars of the Nation with Rebecca Many Grey Horses

Rebecca Many Grey Horses discusses the traditional roles of Niitsitapi women, notable and exceptional women in Blackfoot history and contemporary women who are leading in their communities and in the world.

Online Presentation, Indigenous HistoryGraham RuttanJune 21, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesBlackfoot, Women, Leaders, Pillars, Galt Museum & Archives, Indigenous Peoples WeekComment

The Buffalo Journal: Episode 12

Learn about the effort in the early 1990s to save the plains bison and about locations sacred to the Niitsitapi people.

Indigenous HistoryGraham RuttanJune 20, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesBuffalo Journal, Lethbridge Television, Video, Pow-wow, Bison, Buffalo, Dancers, Sacred Blackfoot Sites, Chief Mountain, Belly Buttes, Porcupine Hills, Tepee Rings, Jim GoodstrikerComment

The Buffalo Journal: Episode 10

Learn about the Old Sun Museum, the history of the Siksika Nation and about a blood rock band called Kinroq.

Indigenous HistoryGraham RuttanJune 20, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesMusic, Siksika, Kinroq, Lethbridge Television, Old Sun MuseumComment

A Conversation with Blanch Bruisedhead

Rebecca Wilde has a conversation with Blanche Bruisedhead about traditional Blackfoot traditions, customs, language, and much more.

Online Presentation, Indigenous HistoryMuseum EducatorJune 20, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesBlanche, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Blackfoot, Galt Museum & Archives, Education, ReconciliationComment

The Buffalo Journal: Episode 9

Learn about the modern struggle for recognition of the Métis People and hear an interview with Everett Soop regarding his book "I See My Tribe is Still Behind Me"

Indigenous HistoryGraham RuttanJune 19, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesEverett Soop, Rodney First Rider, Metis, GamesComment

The Buffalo Journal: Episode 8

Learn about the history and the battle for recognition of the Métis people, the design and history of the tepee, and the origin and culture of the Kainai people.

Indigenous HistoryGraham RuttanJune 19, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesKainai, Blood, Metis, Tepee, Galt Museum & ArchivesComment

The Buffalo Journal: Episode 5

A performance by Buffy Sainte-Marie, discusses the changes to traditional ways of living among the Peigan people after the signing of Treaty 7 and more.

Indigenous HistoryGraham RuttanJune 18, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesBuffy Sainte-Marie, Peigan, Tradition, Blackfoot, Indigenous, History, Culture, Pow wow, Buffalo Princess Pageant, Head-Smashed-In, Eagle Bonnet, War Bonnet, Demonstration, Galt Museum & ArchivesComment

The Buffalo Journal: Episode 4

Episode 4 of The Buffalo Journals explores indigenous winter survival techniques with Harold Healy, preserving traditional knowledge with Joe Crowshoe, Sundance societies and rituals, and much more.

Indigenous HistoryGraham RuttanJune 17, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesTepee, Native Winter Games, Sundance, Senator James Gladstone, Traditional Knowledge, Survival Techniques, Blackfoot, Niitsitapi, Galt Museum & ArchivesComment

The Buffalo Journal: Episode 3

Take a look at this 1989 TV episode that explores the relationship between the Tsuut'ina Nation on the Sarcee Reserve and the nearby City of Calgary, and profiles of Pat Kennedy, Boye Ladd and more. %u

Indigenous HistoryGraham RuttanJune 17, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesComment

Potai’na (Flying Chief), or Joe Healy

Potai’na (Flying Chief), also known as Joseph Healy, was a prominent member of the Kainai Nation and son of Akai-nuspi (Many Braids) and Pi’aki (the Dancer).

Article, Indigenous HistoryMuseum EducatorJune 17, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesJoe Healy, Potai’na, Akai-nuspi, Pi’aki, Toopikiini, Blackfoot, Cree, Montana, Fort Whoop-Up, Fort Benton Comment

The Buffalo Journal: Episode 2

Discover the Bullhorn buffalo jump and an interview with nearby resident John Tallow; the Head-Smashed-In Interpretive Centre west of Fort Macleod, Alberta; a profile of Alvin Manitopiyes, a Cree Indian living and working in Calgary; and a review of the film “War Party.”

Indigenous HistoryGraham RuttanJune 16, 2020Galt Museum & ArchivesBuffalo Journal, Indigenous Peoples Week, Indigenous History, Southern Alberta, Bullhorn, Buffalo Jump, John Tallow, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Alvin Manitopiyes, Blackfoot, Cree, War Party, Indian News Media, Lethbridge TelevisionComment