Kainai Nation

Blood Tribe
Kainai Nation
Band No. 435
Káínaa / ᖿᐟᖻᖷ
Shield of the Kainai Nation
PeopleBlackfoot
TreatyTreaty 7
HeadquartersStand Off
ProvinceAlberta
Land
Main reserveBlood 148
Reserve
Blood 148A
Land area1,362.639 km2 (526.118 sq mi)
Population (2021)
On reserve4,572
Total population12,963
Government
ChiefRoy Fox
Council
  • Floyd Big Head
  • Clarence Black Water
  • Diandra Bruised Head
  • Winston Day Chief
  • Tony Delaney
  • Dorothy First Rider
  • Martin Heavy Head
  • Travis Plaited Hair
  • Richard Red Crow
  • Maria Russell
  • Piinaakoyim Tailfeathers
  • Marcel Weasel Head
Website
bloodtribe.org Edit this at Wikidata
Stand Off community at night. Kainai Nation.
Kainai Nation entry sign

The Kainai Nation (/ˈkaɪnaɪ/ KY-ny; Blackfoot: ᖿᐟᖻ, romanized: Káínaa, pronounced [kɛ́naː], or ᖿᐟᖻᖷ, Káínawa [kɛ́nawḁ]), also known as Blood Tribe, is a First Nations band government in southern Alberta, Canada, with a population of 18,465 members in 2024, up from 11,791 in December 2013.

Akáínaa [akǽnaː] translates directly to 'many chief' (from aká, 'many' and nínaa, 'chief') while Káína translates directly to 'many chief people'. The enemy Plains Cree call the Kainai mihkowiyiniw, 'stained with blood', thus 'the bloodthirsty, cruel', therefore, the common English name for the tribe is the Blood tribe.

The Kainai speak a language of the Blackfoot linguistic group; their dialect is closely related to those of the Siksika and Piikani. They are one of three nations constituting the Blackfoot Confederacy.

At the time treaties such as Treaty 7 were signed, the Kainai were situated on the Oldman, Belly, and St. Mary rivers west of Lethbridge, Alberta. The Kainai reserve Blood 148 is currently the largest in Canada with 4,570 inhabitants on 1,410 km2 (545 sq mi) and is located 200 kilometres (120 mi) south of Calgary.

Economy

The Kainai Nation is engaged in diverse enterprises, and they trade with domestic and international partners. Ammolite mining, for example, provides a rare highly demanded gem mineral to Asia for feng shui. Ammolite is known to be found only in the Bearpaw Formation, as unique conditions of the Campanian age were optimal for the fossilization of marine life into ammolite. Over the years, mining operations have uncovered several oceanic mosasaur fossils, which have been stored for study at the Royal Tyrrell Museum; however, they belong to the Kainai Nation.

History

In September 2014 the Blood Tribe became one of the original eight signatories to the Buffalo Treaty. They also held the first buffalo dialogue in 2009 that eventually led to the creation of the treaty.

The Kainai Nation filed many specific claims with the federal government. In 2017, a federal court ruled that the Crown had underestimated the band's population, resulting in a smaller reserve than it should have been. As such, the Blood Tribe reserve could be expanded by 421 square kilometres (163 sq mi), but the community could seek a cash-in-lieu-of-land settlement for this claim instead.

In July 2019, the Kainai Nation settled a claim over Crown mismanagement of the band's ranching assets. The community received a $150 million cash settlement. Chief Roy Fox said that $123 million of this settlement will be used to develop "housing, capital works, a new administration building and a new skating rink".

Government

Band council

The Kainai Nation is governed by an elected council of twelve to fifteen, with one chief. The term of office is four years. Historical chiefs of the Kainai are below:

  • Last of the hereditary chiefs, Traditional Chief Jim Shot Both Sides (1956–1980)
  • Chief Chris Shade (1996–2004)
  • Chief Charles Weasel Head (2004–2016)
  • Chief Roy Fox (Makiinimaa – Curlew) (2016–present)

Blood Tribe Councillors (2024)

  1. Patrick Black Plume (Siksaapoo)
  2. Clarence Black Water (Aakaota’si)
  3. Kyla Crow (Komiikakato’saakii)
  4. Beth Day Chief (Sapappistsa’taakii)
  5. Dorothy First Rider (Iitomomahka)
  6. Elliot Fox (Makoy’ooh’kinni)
  7. John J. (J.J.) Little Bear (Piita’ohkamii)
  8. Kirby Many Fingers (Apanssa’pi)
  9. Maria Russell (Iitoominnimaakii)
  10. Piinaakoyim Tailfeathers (Piinaakoyim)
  11. Marcel Weasel Head (Aapao’tokaan)
  12. Franklyn White Quills (Makoyaapii)

Police force

In pre-treaty times, the iikunuhkahtsi were a society responsible for the punishment of misdeeds. As of 2015 the Blood reserve was policed by the Blood Tribe Police, with 31 officers.

Notable people

In 1960, the Kainai and their Sun Dance were featured in the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) documentary Circle of the Sun. Tribal leaders had been concerned that the Sun Dance might be dying out, and had permitted filming as a visual record. This documentary was later referenced by electronic music duo Boards of Canada on their debut album Music Has The Right to Children, with song titles such as "Kaini Industries" and "Pete Standing Alone" paying homage to the tribe and its leader.

In 1973, the NFB released the documentary Kainai, which discusses the construction and consequences of a factory on their property.

In 2006, community leader Rick Tailfeathers contributed a small ammolite carving of a buffalo skull to the Six String Nation project. The object was permanently mounted on the interior of Voyageur, the guitar at the heart of the project. Following a presentation about the project in September 2014 at Tatsikiisaapo'p Middle School, project creator Jowi Taylor was presented with a braid of sweet grass by school principal Ramona Big Head. The braid resides in the headstock area in the bed of the guitar case.

On National Aboriginal Day in 2011, the NFB released the Pete Standing Alone trilogy, which includes Circle of the Sun, Standing Alone and a 2010 film, Round Up, documenting 50 years of the Kainai Nation as well as the life of elder Pete Standing Alone.

Historical newspapers

Kainai News, Volume 1, Issue 9, October 15, 1968

Communities

The Kainai nation communities include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population". Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  2. ↑ "First Nation Detail: Blood". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  3. ↑ Branch, Government of Canada; Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada; Communications (2008-11-14). "First Nation Profiles". fnp-ppn.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2024-08-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Blood Tribe Registered Population - Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada - "Registered Population: Blood". Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  5. ↑ "Search results". www.creedictionary.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  6. ↑ - 2016 Census Aboriginal Population Profile
  7. ↑ Lawrynuik, S (Feb 22, 2017).'It's like nothing else on earth: Rarest of Gemstones fuels boom for Alberta miners'.CBC News, retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ammolite-mine-expansion-canada-gems-1.3993105, retrieved on Nov 28, 2017
  8. ↑ Narine, S(2002).Fossil discovered in mining operation, Alberta Sweetgrass 9(11) retrieved from https://www.ammsa.com/publications/alberta-sweetgrass/fossil-discovered-mining-operation, retrieved on Nov 28, 2017
  9. ↑ "Relationships". Buffalo Treaty. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  10. ↑ "Buffalo Treaty - International Buffalo Relations Institute". Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  11. ↑ Taschereau Mamers, Danielle (2020). "'Last of the buffalo': bison extermination, early conservation, and visual records of settler colonization in the North American west". Settler Colonial Studies. 10 (1): 126–147. doi:10.1080/2201473X.2019.1677134.
  12. ↑ "Blood Tribe reserve in southwestern Alberta could expand following court ruling". The Star. 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  13. ↑ "'The right thing to do': Alberta reserve to get $150M in historic cattle claim". The Star. Canadian Press. 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  14. 1 2 "Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers". www.bcnu.org. Archived from the original on 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  15. ↑ "Stu-mick-o-súcks, Buffalo Bull's Back Fat, Head Chief, Blood Tribe by George Catlin". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  16. ↑ Dowell, K. L. (2015). "The future looks rad from where I stand: A review of claiming space: Voices of urban aboriginal youth at the UBC museum of anthropology". Anthropologica. 57 (1). ProQuest 1690736642.
  17. ↑ "Film Screenings: Banchi Hanuse and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers - SFU Woodward's - Simon Fraser University". www.sfu.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  18. ↑ Indigenous Youth Wellness, Decolonization with Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, retrieved 2019-02-06
  19. ↑ "Medical doctor and changemaker, Dr. Esther Tailfeathers, to receive University of Lethbridge honorary degree | UNews". University of Lethbridge. Archived from the original on 2024-06-05. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  20. ↑ Rosenthal, Alan; John Corner (2005-05-13). New challenges for documentary. Manchester University Press. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-7190-6899-1.
  21. ↑ Low, Colin; Gil Cardinal. "Circle of the Sun". Curator's comments. National Film Board of Canada. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
  22. ↑ "Why Boards of Canada's Music Has the Right to Children Is the Greatest Psychedelic Album of the '90s". Pitchfork. 2018-04-03. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  23. ↑ "Kainai". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  24. ↑ Jowi., Taylor (2009). Six string nation : 64 pieces, 6 strings, 1 Canada, 1 guitar. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre. ISBN 9781553653936. OCLC 302060380.
  25. ↑ Anderson, Kelly (17 June 2011). "NFB celebrates National Aboriginal Day". Realscreen. Toronto. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  26. ↑ Kainai News (1968–1991)
  27. ↑ Sanderson, Kay (1999). 200 Remarkable Alberta Women. Calgary: Famous Five Foundation. p. 101.
  28. ↑ Sun Dance Echo (1964–1966)
  29. ↑ Blood Tribe - About Us & Communities listed "About us | bloodtribe". Archived from the original on 2014-01-31. Retrieved 2014-01-23.