"The Blackfoot confederacy of Alberta in Canada and Montana in the United States was created from closely related, Algonkian-speaking tribes: the Piegan, the Kainai (Blood), and the Siksika (from which the word Blackfoot derived). They were a powerful nation that covered the Great Plains of the North American continent. They were accomplished hunters and traders with posts that extended to the east coast and Mexico.
The Blackfoot Confederacy is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana.
The Blackfoot Confederacy consists of the North Piegan (Aapatohsipiikanii), the South Piegan (Aamsskaapipiikanii), the Kainai Nation (Blood), and the Siksika Nation ("Blackfoot") or more correctly Siksikawa ("Blackfoot people"). The South Piegan are located in Montana, and the other three are located in Alberta. Together they call themselves the Niitsitapii (the "Real People"). These groups shared a common language and culture, had treaties of mutual defense, and freely intermarried.
It is also speculated that "Blackfoot Cherokee" refers to a band of Cherokee that had black ancestry, most likely from the adoption of escaped slaves into their society. This band of Cherokee, however, have no connection to the Blackfoot nations."
