Tracing Elouise's Ancestry
Ootahkoipiksakíí, Yellow Bird Woman (Elouise Pepion Cobell, 1945-2011) came from niitsítapiiksi, the Real People, collectively known as the Blackfoot Confederacy. Elouise was an enrolled member of the amsskaapipiikáni or Blackfeet (Southern Piegan). She was a lineal descendant of prominent and celebrated Blackfeet leaders, notably nínaiistáko, Mountain Chief I. Ninaiistáko was Elouise’s Great, Great Grandfather. He signed The Blackfeet Treaty of 1855 with his friend and fellow Chief Lame Bull. Mountain Chief II (b. 1848) was Elouise’s Great Uncle.
Niitsítapiiksi traditional aboriginal territory extended along the eastern slope of mokakííkin, the Backbone (Rocky Mountains), from ponokasisahta, Elk River (North Saskatchewan), south to otahkoíítahtayi, the Yellowstone River and east to ómahksspatsikoyii, the Great Sand Hills in Saskatchewan.
The Blackfeet Treaty of 1855, also known as Lame Bull’s Treaty delineated a Common Hunting Ground along Montana’s southern border between the Rocky Mountains and the Yellowstone River. The Blackfeet were told to share this region with other buffalo hunting tribes on the Great Plains to the east and those west of the Rockies. The “exclusive” Blackfeet territory’s southern boundary stemmed from Hell Gate pass on the Continental Divide and extended eastward to the Musselshell River, a tributary of the Missouri and north to the 49th parallel.
Niitsítapiiksi believe the land they inhabit and maintain was bestowed upon them by iihtsipáítapiiyopa, the source of life or creator. Their deep relationship with the earth and their intimate knowledge of the natural world extends to all ksahkomitápiksi, the earth beings that we share the world with, including sspomitápiksi, above beings, soyiitápiksi, water beings and naatoyitápiiksi, spirit beings.
Today, we honor the path Elouise and her ancestors have shown us in caring for the land for generations to come.