Niitstitapi (The Real People) journeys the continental divide where North America marks the beginning of the traditional territory of The Blackfoot Confederacy, an ancient alliance of Blackfoot people who, along with the Buffalo, have always inhabited a vast area of mountains, rivers, lakes, and short grass prairie that stretches from the Rocky Mountains into the great plains. Today, the Blackfoot Confederacy comprises the Sitsika Nation, Kainai Nation, and Piikani Nation in Canada, and the Blackfeet Nation in the US. Despite being forced onto reserves and compelled to assimilate in bleak residential schools during the 19th and 20th centuries, the Niitstitapi from these Blackfoot Confederacy communities all share the same language and culture and cooperate to protect and preserve their land and way of life. Through the eyes of members of each of the four bands, Niitstitapi explores themes of cultural revival and permanence and how those values are practiced in daily life.
Niitstitapi (The Real People) journeys the continental divide where North America marks the beginning of the traditional territory of The Blackfoot Confederacy, an ancient alliance of Blackfoot people who, along with the Buffalo, have always inhabited a vast area of mountains, rivers, lakes, and short grass prairie that stretches from the Rocky Mountains into the great plains. Today, the Blackfoot Confederacy comprises the Sitsika Nation, Kainai Nation, and Piikani Nation in Canada, and the Blackfeet Nation in the US. Despite being forced onto reserves and compelled to assimilate in bleak residential schools during the 19th and 20th centuries, the Niitstitapi from these Blackfoot Confederacy communities all share the same language and culture and cooperate to protect and preserve their land and way of life. Through the eyes of members of each of the four bands, Niitstitapi explores themes of cultural revival and permanence and how those values are practiced in daily life.