Blood (Kainai)

Blood or Kainai are one of 3 tribes which make up the BLACKFOOT NATION. In their own language,Kainaiis a corruption of the term a-kainaw, meaning "many chiefs." They are of Algonquian linguistic stock and speak the same language as the Blackfoot and PEIGAN, with only slight variations in dialect (see NATIVE PEOPLE, LANGUAGES).

Keywords

Native Tribes

The Blood, or Kainai, once occupied hunting grounds from the Red Deer River to the Belly River, but by the mid-19th century they had moved farther south to the Pakowki Lake, Belly River and Teton River regions. They often ranged far into Montana and traded as frequently with the American Fur Co as they did with the HUDSON'S BAY CO. They were a nomadic buffalo-hunting tribe (see BUFFALO HUNT), with complex religious societies and the reputation for being fierce warriors. Their enemies included the CREE, KOOTENAY, Shoshoni and Crow tribes. The population of the Blood during the nomadic period was from 2500 to 3500, dropping to a low of 1750 people after the 1837 smallpox epidemic, and rising to 8338 by 1996.

The leading chief of the tribe in the late 1700s was Bull Back Fat, who was succeeded by 2 descendants bearing the same name. The second Bull Back Fat made peace with the Americans in 1831, permitting them to open trading posts on the upper Missouri River. In 1855 the Blood, under Father of Many Children, Bull Back Fat and Seen From Afar, signed a treaty with the Americans. In 1877 Seen From Afar's nephew, RED CROW, was the tribe's chief signer of Treaty No 7 with the Canadian government and remained leader of the tribe until his death in 1900.

Initially the Blood were given a reserve adjacent to the Blackfoot (Siksika) on the Bow River, but in 1880 they moved to a new site between the St Mary River and Belly River, where they established the largest INDIAN RESERVE in Canada. In the 1890s the Blood launched a successful ranching industry, and after the turn of the century they became large-scale farmers. Over the years, they gained the reputation of being hardworking, proud people who retained many of their cultural values. Like other tribes, they faced the stresses of integration and social breakdown, but have been relatively more successful in dealing with these problems than other First Nations people.

See also NATIVE PEOPLE: PLAINS and general articles under NATIVE PEOPLE.

Parflêche, Hide
Hide parflêche, circa 1930, southern Alberta, Blood (courtesy Glenbow Museum).

Bison or Buffalo, Uses of the
This drawing shows how completely the Plains Indians such as the Blackfoot, Blood, Dakota Peigan and Sarcee depended on the bison (artwork by Gordon Miller).

Red Crow
Red Crow, the powerful chief of the Blood, was one of the chiefs whose support was required for the peaceful settlement of the West. He was a signatory of Treaty Number 7 (courtesy PAA/B-1054).

Blood
Portrait of a tribal elder's wife, wearing a beaded, fringed, hide dress, feathered hat, and carrying an eagle feather staff, Alta, 1926 (courtesy Canada Science and Technology Museum/CN005596).

Author HUGH A. DEMPSEY

Links to Other Sites

Legends Project
Listen to dramatizations of oral histories, including ancient legends and myths, that Inuit and First Nations elders would have shared during family gatherings and activities in their communities. The series of recordings on this website were originally broadcast on the CBC Radio 1 program “Ideas.”

Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples
The website for the "Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples." Click on the links for feature articles about Canada's many multicultural communities, access to their extensive digital archives collection, learning modules, and much more. From "Multicultural Canada."

Red Crow
A brief profile of Red Crow (Mekaisto,) the dynamic and forward-thinking head chief of the Blood Tribe in Alberta. From “Alberta: How the West was Young.”

Four Directions Teachings
Elders and traditional teachers representing the Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibwe, Mohawk, and Mi’kmaq share teachings about their culture. Animated graphics visualize each of the oral teachings. This website also provides biographies of participants, transcripts, and extensive learning resources for students and their teachers. In English with French subtitles.