Crowfoot

Crowfoot
Chief Crowfoot ca. 1885
Native name	Isapo-Muxika
Born	1830 Rupert's Land
Died	25 April 1890 (aged 59–60) Blackfoot Crossing
Cause of death	Tuberculosis
Nationality	Siksika (adopted) Kainai/Blood (born) Blackfoot Confederacy
Other names	Shot close (baby name) Bear Ghost (boy name) Packs A Knife (former warrior name)
Known for	Chief of the Siksika First Nation, warrior, peacemaker
Title	Chief of Siksika First Nation 1890
Parent(s)	Packs A Knife (father) Attacked Toward Home (mother) Many Names (adopted father)
Relatives	Iron Shield (brother) Three Bulls (adopted brother) Scabby Bull (grandfather) Crying Bear (uncle)

Crowfoot (1830 – 25 April 1890) or Isapo-Muxika (Blackfoot Issapóómahksika, "Crow-big-foot") was a chief of the Siksika First Nation. His parents, Istowun-eh'pata (Packs a Knife) and Axkahp-say-pi (Attacked Towards Home), were Kainai. He was only five when Istowun-eh'pata was killed during a raid on the Crow tribe, and a year later, his mother remarried to Akay-nehka-simi (Many Names) of the Siksika people where he was brought up. Crowfoot was a warrior who fought in as many as 19 battles and sustained many injuries. Despite this, he tried to obtain peace instead of tribal warfare. Crowfoot is well known for his involvement in Treaty Number 7 and did much negotiating for his people. While many believe Chief Crowfoot had no part in the North-West Rebellion, he did in fact participate to an extent due to his son's connection to the conflict. Crowfoot died of tuberculosis at Blackfoot Crossing on April 25, 1890. Eight hundred of his tribe attended his funeral, along with government dignitaries. In 2008, Chief Crowfoot was inducted into the North America Railway Hall of Fame where he was recognized for his contributions to the railway industry. Crowfoot is well known for his contributions to the Blackfoot nation, and has many memorials to signify his accomplishments.

Chief Crowfoot was born in 1830 to the Kainai, known to traders and Canadian settlers as the Bloods, one of the tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy. His father was Istowun-eh'pata (Packs a Knife) and Axkahp-say-pi (Attacked Towards Home) He was first known as Shot-Close. Later as a boy he was given the name Bear Ghost and then his father’s name Packs-a Knife after he had been killed by members of the Crow tribe. These different names came at different times in his life as he proved himself a skilled Blackfoot warrior and later in his life, a Blackfoot chief. A year after his father died, his mother remarried a member of the Siksika tribe Akay-nehka-simi (Many Names) who eventually came to bring his new wife back to the Siksika tribe. Crowfoot followed his new father and mother to the Siksika on foot for several hours, eventually causing the two to turn around and bring both the young Crowfoot and his grandfather Scabby bull with them to the Blackfoot tribe. It was with this tribe where Crowfoot would prove himself as a warrior and leader.