Blackfoot language
| Blackfoot (Nitsitapi) | |
|---|---|
| Siksiká (ᓱᖽᐧᖿ) | |
| Native to | Canada, United States |
| Region | Piikani, Siksika, and Kainai Reserves in southern Alberta; Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana |
| Ethnicity | 15,000 Blackfoot (1977) |
|
Native speakers
|
3,400 (2011 Canadian census) |
|
Algic
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | siks1238 |
Siksika (ᓱᖽᐧᖿ, its denomination in ISO 639-3), also known as Blackfoot or Pied Noir, Kainah (Kainai, Akaina), also known as Blood, and Pikanii (Pekuni, or Piegan in the USA spelling and Peigan in the Canadian spelling), also known as Poor Robe, are the three subdivisions of the Nitsitapi people, and the Algonquian language spoken by the Nitsitapi tribes of Native Americans, who currently live in the northwestern plains of North America is often called, due to a very wanton choice, "Blackfoot". Nearly all speakers live in Canada. There are four dialects of Blackfoot, three of which are spoken in Alberta, Canada, and one of which is spoken in the United States: Siksiká (Blackfoot), to the southeast of Calgary, Alberta; Kainai (Blood), spoken in Alberta between Cardston and Lethbridge; Aapátohsipikani (Northern Piegan), to the west of Fort MacLeod; and Aamsskáápipikani (Southern Piegan), in northwestern Montana.
There is a distinct difference between Old Blackfoot (also called High Blackfoot), the dialect spoken by many older speakers; and New Blackfoot (also called Modern Blackfoot), the dialect spoken by younger speakers. Among the Algonquian languages, Blackfoot is relatively divergent in phonology and lexicon. Like the other Algonquian languages, Blackfoot is typologically polysynthetic.
The Cuts Wood Academy in Browning, Montana, founded by Darrell Kipp and the Piegan Institute, offers language immersion instruction in Blackfoot.
Technically the official name of the tribe is Blackfeet and this is the term used by the Piegan Blackfeet in the United States. Canadian bands use the term "Blackfoot", as in the Blackfoot Confederacy. The name Blackfoot probably comes from the blackened soles of the leather shoes that the people wear. The Blackfoot language is a member of the Algonquian-languages family. Blackfoot language has been on a drastic decline in the number of native speakers and now faces extinction in the early 21st century.
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Wikipedia