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Medicine Hat, Alberta, incorporated as a city in 1906, population 63,271 (2021 census), 63,260 (2016 census). The city of Medicine Hat is one of Alberta's largest cities. It is located on the Canadian Pacific Railway main line and the Trans-Canada Highway in the southeastern corner of the province, bisected by the South Saskatchewan River. Canada's “sunniest” city, Medicine Hat averages 330 days of sunshine per year. A council of eight councillors and a mayor govern the city.

The greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) is a type of grouse. Native to central North America, the greater prairie chicken is extirpated in Canada, but continues to live in parts of the United States, in particular in Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. In Canada, the greater prairie chicken lived in southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as in southern and western Ontario. It was first listed as extirpated in 1990. The bird’s disappearance in Canada was due primarily to the conversion of its natural habitat, grassland, to farmland. The greater prairie chicken is culturally significant to Siksika (Blackfoot) and Plains Cree First Nations in Canada, and lives on in their prairie chicken powwow dance.

The Kainai, also known as the Blood or Kainaiwa, are one of three nations comprising the Blackfoot Confederacy. (The other two include the Siksika and Piikani.) The Kainai have a land base of 1,342.9 km², bordered on all sides by the Oldman, St. Mary and Belly rivers in Alberta. According to the 2016 census, 1,000 people identified as having Kainai ancestry.

This entry provides a historical overview of the Kainai people; for more information about their reserve, society and culture, and modern community, please see Kainai Nation (Blood Tribe).

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park is located in southern Alberta, just north of the Canada-US border. To the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Nation), the site is known as Áísínai’pi, which means “it is pictured” or “it is written” in the Blackfoot language. The park features thousands of rock paintings and carvings created by the Siksikaitsitapi, most of which date to 1050 BCE. Established as a provincial park in 1957, Áísínai’pi was designated a National Historic Site in 2004, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.

Piikani (Peigan, Pikuni, Piikuni) are one of the three nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy. (The other two are the Siksika and Kainai.) The Piikani once occupied a vast hunting ground which ranged along the foothills from Rocky Mountain House to Heart Butte, Montana, and extended eastward onto the Plains. According to the federal government, there are 3,884 registered members living and working both on and off their reserves located near Pincher Creek, Alberta.

Okotoks, Alberta, incorporated as a town in 1904, population 30,214 (2021 census), 28,833 (2016 census). The town of Okotoks is located 20 km south of Calgary.

The Siksika, also known as the Blackfoot (or Blackfeet in the United States), are one of the three nations that make up the Blackfoot Confederacy (the other two are the Piikani and Kainai). In the Blackfoot language, Siksika means “Blackfoot.” As of 2021, the Siksika registered population is 7,565, with 4,136 living on reserve in Alberta.

Áísínai’pi is the location of thousands of rock art images in Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in southern Alberta. In the Blackfoot language Áísínai’pi means “it is pictured” or “it is written.” Painted and carved onto sandstone cliffs, most of the art was created by the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Nation) around 1050 BCE. Taken together, these images represent the largest concentration of Indigenous rock art in the North American plains. Áísínai’pi was designated a National Historic Site in 2004, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.

Siksikáí’powahsin (commonly referred to as the Blackfoot language) is an Algonquian language spoken by four Blackfoot nations: the Siksiká (Blackfoot), Aapátohsipikani (North Piikani), Aamsskáápipikani (South Piikani) and Kainai (Blood). While there are some dialectal differences between these groups, speakers can generally understand one another. Blackfoot is an endangered language; since the 1960s, the number of new speakers has significantly decreased. The development of language programs and resources in Canada and the United States seek to preserve the language and promote it to new speakers.

The Blackfoot Confederacy, sometimes referred to as the Blackfoot Nation or Siksikaitsitapi, is comprised of three Indigenous nations, the Kainai, Piikani and Siksika. People of the Blackfoot Nation refer to themselves as Niitsitapi, meaning “the real people,” a generic term for all Indigenous people, or Siksikaitsitapi, meaning “Blackfoot-speaking real people.” The Confederacy’s traditional territory spans parts of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as northern Montana. In the 2016 census, 22,490 people identified as having Blackfoot ancestry.