“One Councilman started the ball rolling,” said Edward North Peigan, lead teacher of the Blackfeet language at Blackfeet Tribal Headquarters. “He wanted the Blackfeet language taught to all the staff, and he wanted to learn the language also.”

The BTBC resolved Dec. 2 to create a Blackfeet language teaching position in the tribal government, said North Peigan, who has taught the language at East Glacier Park Elementary, Browning High School and at Blackfeet Community College. Together with his wife, Wilma, he has logged many hours of Blackfeet language instruction time. “I’m a native speaker,” he said. “English is my second language. I’m continuing to struggle with English.”

But according to North Peigan, his experience in learning the dominant language of the United States gives him hope that people can learn Blackfeet. “If I can learn English, then anyone can learn anything they choose,” he said.

Read more