Getting Started May 24th, 2024

I decided to begin a venture into the revitalization of an ancient First Nations language, Siksika (Blackfoot). The entire idea is overwhelming but also very exciting. The Blackfoot Confederacy (BFC, Siksikaitsiapi ((Real People)) is comprised of 3 reserves in Canada and 1 in the United States Montana; Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), Piikunni (Scabby Robe) and Southern Piikunni (Southern Scabby Robe). The population of the BFC is roughly 22,000 in Canada and 45, 000 across North America.

The CBC, 2023, conducted a news report on the active fluent speakers of the Siksika. In 2021, is was reported from a rough 8000 population of Siksika only 582 are fluent speakers, which comes to 13.75% of the population in 2021. Among the BFC, the Blackfoot language is at serious risk of dying out in the next 10-15 years. There has been a variety of theories and revitalization approaches with one major problem. There are too many chiefs and teachers that believe their way is the only approach.

My approach is going to evaluate the various programs and combine them into a single method, which no language program has developed. The approach is simple and straight forward. Conversation and listening! Individuals need to be emersed in the language without the influence of the English language. The change of thinking from English to Siksika is a method and theory I am testing.

For Example, the Word 'Oki', Hello, does not verbally address hello but expresses a greeting of gratitude when seeing someone you are personally connected to.

1. Oki: Greeting to an individual you personal know.

2. Ok'yaa: Greeting to an individual of high respect and sit of power.

3. Oka'hey: Greeting to an individual you do not know personal.
   

The above 3 greetings is an expression of respect and feeling of honor towards individuals you may meet in public. Of course we can not leave out the hand gestures and hand language. The common greeting used by almost all individuals is Oki. The focus on ceremonial language is the best approach since it is universal among the 4 tribes of BFC.

I am excited to begin!

Frantz, D. G. (2017). Blackfoot Grammer (3rd ed.). Univeristy of Toronto Press.

Frantz, D. G., & Russel, N. J. (2017). Blackfoot Dictionary (3rd ed.). Univeristy of Toronto Press.

Trembath, T. (2023, March 31). How to Increase Blackfoot fluency? Knowledge keepers says to create Immersive programs. CBC. Retrieved March 1, 2024, from Trembath, T. (2023, March 31). How to increase Blackfoot fluency? Knowledge keepers says create immersive programs. CBC. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/blackfoot-language-alberta-national-day-1.6797106#:~:text=The%20Siksika%20Membership%20Department%20said,582%20were%20fluent%20Blackfoot%20speakers.

Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia (n.d.). Blackfoot Confederacy. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfoot_Confederacy#Notes