How the Blackfoot language teaches gentleness – Canadian Geographic

Dec 01, 2025

A sincere look at what it means to be Niitsitapii (Real People)

The gentleness of the prairies can be felt by all living things. This is true in my grandmother Georgina Solway’s earliest memories. The meadowlarks were nature’s alarm clock. She recalls the beautiful birds singing as her father George Leather scooted her along her morning routine. When little Georgina idled too long, her dad would tease, “Awanii Sohksiisiimstaan, that meadowlark is telling you to put your stockings on.”

My grandma’s stories are a doorway into my history, one I can feel the presence of beneath my feet. In her days, people visited — often — and spoke only in Blackfoot. Her grandparents travelled by wagon to visit relatives in Siksika Nation. “It’s not like today. Go, go, go. Race over here, race over there,” says Solway. “Everything was just the way it is. The way we’re supposed to live.”