Kim Blackwater

Oki. Nitaniko Kimmatakii. My English name is Kim Black Water. I am biologically from the Northern Pikanii and both my parents are from Piikáni; Ben Buffalo and Ethal Small Legs; however, I was adopted and raised on the Blood Reserve by my mom Priscilla Bruised Head. Because I was adopted on to another reserve, my mother did not want to send me to residential school, so instead I attended the day schools on the reserve. I think with that upbringing it had kept me connected to our language. At home all we spoke was Blackfoot, but in school I had to learn English, which I found very hard. Today I am 61 years old and I still speak Blackfoot to my friends and family who can understand me. I continue to speak it at home to my daughter and my grandchildren. I try to teach them how to understand and speak it and not to be shy when learning Blackfoot. For myself, I speak the old Blackfoot, the way my mother and grandmother taught me. Today I hardly ever hear any of the old people speaking Blackfoot and I too sometimes forget, but through this project it has helped me to remember words and phrases that I haven’t said or heard in a long time. I hope that people will utilize the dictionary and atlas phrases so that they can learn some Blackfoot. Thank you, kyatamattsin!