Colonialism on the Prairies: Blackfoot Settlement and Cultural Transformation, 1870-1920 (First Nations and the Colonial Encounter)

Colonialism on the Prairies spans a century in the history of the Blackfoot First Nations of present-day Montana and Alberta. The book maps out specific ways in which Blackfoot culture persisted amid the drastic transformations of colonization, with its concomitant forced assimilation in both the United States and Canada. It portrays the strategies and tactics adopted by the Blackfoot in order to navigate political, cultural, and social change during the hard transition from traditional lifeways to life on reserves and reservations. Cultural continuity is the thread that binds the book's four case studies, encompassing Blackfoot sacred beliefs and ritual, dress practices, the transmission of knowledge, and the relationship between oral stories and contemporary fiction. Blackfoot voices emerge forcefully from an extensive array of primary and secondary sources, resulting in an inclusive history wherein both Blackfoot and non-Blackfoot scholarship enter into dialogue. Colonialism on the Prairies combines historical research with literary criticism, a strategy that is justified by the interrelationship between Blackfoot history and the stories from their oral tradition. Chapters are devoted to examining cultural continuity, discussing the ways in which oral stories continue to inspire contemporary Native American fiction.