Welcome to my channel! This is Andy from I love languages. Let's learn different languages/dialects together.

This video is created for educational, language awareness, and language preservation purposes. It aims to provide valuable insights and knowledge to viewers, enhancing their understanding and appreciation of different languages and their unique characteristics. By raising awareness about linguistic diversity, the video seeks to foster a greater respect and recognition for various languages, particularly those that are endangered or underrepresented. Additionally, it contributes to the preservation of languages by documenting and sharing linguistic knowledge, thus ensuring that these languages and their cultural heritage are not lost to future generations.

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Recorded & Submitted by: Edmund Black Water :D

Óki! Nitsin'kasim Andy. Tsa niitapii?
Hello! My name is Andy. How are you?
Let's talk about the Blackfoot language.

The Blackfoot language, or Siksiká, is an Algonquian language spoken by the Blackfoot (Niitsitapi) people in the northwestern plains of North America. It has four dialects: three in Alberta, Canada (Siksiká, Kainai, Aapátohsipikani), and one in the United States (Aamsskáápipikani). Blackfoot is a polysynthetic language with a complex morpheme structure. An Anglican missionary, John William Tims, created a syllabics script for it around 1888. Since the 1960s, the number of Blackfoot speakers has significantly declined, leading to its classification as "severely endangered" by UNESCO. Revitalization efforts in the late 1900s have been successful, resulting in institutions like a dedicated college and head-start programs in schools to teach the language and culture to young children.

The Blackfoot Confederacy, or Niitsitapi (Siksikaitsitapi), is a collective term for the linguistically related groups of the Blackfoot or Blackfeet people: the Siksika ("Blackfoot"), Kainai or Blood ("Many Chiefs"), and two sections of the Piikani ("Splotchy Robe")—the Northern Piikani (Aapátohsipikáni) and the Southern Piikani (Amskapi Piikani or Pikuni). Historically, they were nomadic bison hunters and trout fishermen, roaming the northern Great Plains' semi-arid shortgrass prairies. They followed bison herds migrating between the present-day United States and Canada, up to the Bow River. In the early 18th century, they acquired horses and firearms through trade. Chief Mountain is sacred to the Blackfoot peopleand it marks the boundary between the Blackfoot reservation in Montana and Glacier National Park,

The Blackfoot people were a Native American nation that inhabited the Great Plains west of the Mississippi River, primarily in what is now Montana and Alberta. They were bison hunters and lived in settlements spread across the plains, enduring harsh winters with little shelter from the winds. The arrival of European settlers in the late 18th century brought horses, technology, disease, and weapons, which decimated the Blackfoot population through smallpox in the mid-19th century. The name "Blackfoot" likely originates from the blackened soles of their leather shoes. Their traditional homes were tipis, which are considered sacred and feature designs representing their cosmology and stories. These tipis, integral to their nomadic buffalo-hunting lifestyle, are still used for ceremonies like the Sundance, a community gathering for healing and prayer.

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