Blackfoot Women's Empowerment
This page is here to create awareness about local events that Blackfoot women are planning. It is also a platform for the Blackfoot Women’s Empowerment organization to provide updates and announcements to the many women who have supported our initiatives throughout the project. We provide a portal for the women in our communities to stay connected and inform each other of significant events within our community.
About Blackfoot Women
This project took place on the traditional territory of the Siksika, Kainai, Piikani Nations, the City of Calgary, and the City of Lethbridge, which resides in Treaty 7 Lands within Traditional Blackfoot Territory. BWE’s Security to Prosperity Project Phase One objective was to define what economic prosperity and security mean to Blackfoot women. The project also determines what is necessary for Blackfoot women living in urban and rural communities to progress from the need for security and ultimately towards prosperity.
The project has shown that the focus of economic security on prosperity is not based on a Western colonialization view. That is that monetary cash value is the means to gain prosperity. The definition of economic security to prosperity for Blackfoot women is based on the idea that prosperity is about more than money; it is about culture, identity, way of life and the active sustainability of that knowledge.
Our Role Models
Red Woman Talk’s primary objective in the Empowering Blackfoot Women’s Voice creates a space to bring Indigenous women together to talk about their personal stories, issues, and how to help the community move forward. By understanding their issues and the lessons learned along the way, they can inspire, empower and motivate other Indigenous women.
This project aims to bring Indigenous women together to talk about community issues and how to move forward. These stories aim to inspire others, and teach them skills for successfully navigate through issues. Red Woman Talk is scheduled to run for eight months, with one featured Blackfoot Woman guest speaker each month. See our Red Woman Talk schedule, topic list, and learn more about this project below.
What is Security?
Security is understood as having the skills and wisdom to take care of your family without money. Security is also having access to hunting and knowledge of the land to ensure you can gather what you need. Security is also about the strength of relationships. The Indigenous Women’s Council is learning alongside the women who participate and contribute to their community groups. That is in part because this type of project and approach to knowledge gathering does not have a precedent within the Blackfoot Confederacy. We have observed one crucial attribute that can promise success. Blackfoot women are all connected and share the same land, language, and cultural beliefs.
The upcoming steps are to develop criteria for the projects and assist the community leads and participants in pursuing the project to fruition. At the end of the project, we hope the community leaders will bring these projects to the governance level to ensure that these women’s voices and strengths be heard and acknowledged.
Blackfoot Culture
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Siksikaitsiitapi consists of the following Nations/Tribes: Amsskapipiikunniwa (Blackfeet Tribe) located in northern Montana, U.S.A., Kainaiwa (Blood Tribe), Siksikawa (Siksika Nation) and Aapatohipiikunniwa (Piikani Nation), located in southern Alberta, Canada.
Since time immemorial, these Nations occupied their traditional collective territory bounded on the north by the North Saskatchewan River, on the east by the confluence of the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers, on the south by the Yellowstone River, and on the west by the Rocky Mountains. The Creator gave us this territory to live in harmony with all of creation. This traditional territory is marked with our sacred sites including, but not limited to, Ninastako (Chief Mountain), Iini Ksiskom (Buffalo Springs), Moko’waansin (Belly Buttes), Soyioh’powah’ko (Blackfoot Crossing), Miistuki’sts Koowa (Castle Mountain), Aiyii Ki’mikoi (Cypress Hills), Hand Hills, Old Man River, Yellowstone River, North Saskatchewan River, Table Mountain, Crows Creek, Sand Hills, Big Horn Medicine, Sweet Pine Hills, Kai’skah’piiks (Porcupine Hills), Oiskit’tsi’poi’iystuki (Heart Butte Mountain) and Whale Back Ridge.
The Blackfoot Confederacy continues to connect to these sacred sites through stories, songs, and ceremonies while collectively maintaining Blackfoot culture and the Blackfoot language according to the Creator’s teachings.
