This permanent exhibition tells the story of the Blackfoot — or, in Spanish, pies negros — a group of peoples who inhabit the Great Plains region east of the Rocky Mountains, between the northwestern United States and southern Canada. The term Blackfoot is a European exonym said to refer to the dark colors of their footwear: these peoples call themselves Niitsitapi, which means “original person” in their language.

The Blackfoot Confederacy is made up of three culturally and linguistically related nations: Siksiká, Kainai and Piikani. The Blackfoot were organized into bands led by chiefs, figures of military and intellectual prestige who held limited powers. These bands were nomadic, and for their subsistence they depended largely on hunting the American bison. The Niitsitapi regarded the bison as “the real food”, and they did not hunt them for food alone: they also used their hides to make clothing and other objects for everyday and religious use.

The bison took on great importance in the culture and way of life of these peoples. They were seen as a symbol of wealth and prestige. However, expansion and colonization by the United States and British Canada left the territory of the Confederacy occupied and divided between the two. Colonial authorities sought to subdue the Native peoples of the region and, to this end, attempted to exterminate the bison, a fundamental pillar of the Blackfoot way of life. Likewise, the U.S. Army massacred hundreds of Native people in episodes such as that of the Marias River (Montana) in 1870.

This context of occupation and subjugation culminated in the signing of a series of treaties that forced the Blackfoot to live on reserves: the Siksiká, Kainai and Piikani reserves in Alberta (Canada) and the Blackfeet Nation reservation in Montana. Despite this history of repression, assimilation and genocide, the Niitsitapi survive to this day, and their culture and language are undergoing a process of revitalization.