This Book is a combination of life writing and literary analysis of select
oral stories regarding the leadership role of the woman in Blackfoot culture. I
discuss the leadership qualities of The Holy Woman, The Woman Chief/Warrior
and The Blackfoot Woman Storyteller and the importance of these identities for
contemporary Piikani Women. I explain traditional Blackfoot women's roles by
describing the connection between traditional women's roles, oral stories,
ceremonies, Blackfoot language, and the land. A literary analysis and a
comparison of the oral stories found in Percy Bullchild's The Sun Came Down:
The History of The World as My Blackfeet Elders Told It, Beverley Hungry Wolf's
The Ways of My Grandmothers, and Clark Wissler and D C Duvall's Mythology of
The Blackfoot Indians will demonstrate archetypal women in leadership roles,
and will show the origins of these traditional roles. The argument for this Book is
to encourage Piikani women to return to traditional Blackfoot roles for the
purpose of establishing traditional Blackfoot leadership to balance power
between women and men; create healthy communities; and empower future
generations of Piikani Women leaders.
