Wayfinders Circle 2022 Annual Report - Flipbook - Page 24
SELECTED INVESTMENTS
strengthened the connections between community,
environment, and economy. The people remain steadfast in their conviction that the environment should not
be sacriûced to build a healthy coastal economy.
BlackfOOt
Confederacy
U N I T E D S TAT E S
The traditional collective territory of the Blackfeet
Nation in the United States includes all of the Blackfeet Reservation, Glacier National Park, the
Badger-Two Medicine Area, and more. In the United
States, the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council is the
governing body responsible for state-to-state relations,
and for exercising powers of government under the
Blackfeet Constitution and By-laws. More traditional
responsibilities are held by the Buûalo Bull Children
Horn Society and others. Today, the Blackfeet are on
the forefront of a movement to re-introduce buûalo to
traditional rangelands, strengthening their ties to
ancient traditional ways.
The Heiltsuk recently released the Heiltsuk Constitution
where Heiltsuk principles, morals, values, responsibilities, and governance are deûned. It is a living document that includes stories, homeland maps, membership rights, freedoms and responsibilities, lawmaking
authorities, government structure and process, ûnancial
law, code of conduct, amendment process, and
çvi?ás4customary law. Community members describe
the passing of the Constitution as a way to make
concrete and permanent Heiltsuk jurisdiction over land
and resources, along with all aspects of the Heiltsuk
world. It puts into writing an inherited legacy of over
14,000 years of oral tradition and stewardship practices.
The Heiltsuk worked on strengthening their governance
in 2022 by investing in their Qqs (Eyes) Projects
Society with the aim of expanding food sustainability,
as well as the connection between youth with culture
and the environment.
United States. The Blackfeet reservation is one of the
largest in the United States, and in Canada the other
three Blackfoot lands include a similarly large expanse.
The traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy
covers vast expanses of Canada and the United
States, shaped by a series of treaties signed between
the four bands of the Blackfoot Confederacy and the
colonial powers of Canada and the United States. The
Blackfoot Confederacy serves as the international
coordinating body for all the Blackfoot Indigenous
nations in Canada and the United States. The four
bands of the Confederacy are the Kainai-Blood Tribe,
Siksika, and Aapatohsi (Northern) Piikani First
Nations in Canada, as well as the Blackfeet in the
In 2022, Blackfeet Eco Knowledge established itself as
a new non-proût 501c3 organization. The mission of
Blackfeet Eco Knowledge is to engage in revitalization,
restoration, and reintroduction of Indigenous traditional knowledge systems that exist within the Niitsiitapii
(Blackfeet) culture. Its work is linked to land-use
knowledge and environmental justice for the Blackfeet
Nation. The activities carried out included: hiring
personnel, developing a work plan and agendas,
adoption of bylaw, and establishment of the board
with designated roles and responsibilities. Blackfeet
WAY F I N D E R S C I R C L E
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ANNUAL REPORT
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2022
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