Browning educator works to preserve Blackfeet language

“ōk̇ii niisṫoō ǐǐnnōk̇´ ṗiik̇ǔnii niṫtsin´k̇ǎasim o´nōk̇īyk̇ǔṫtsis, nitṫīyǎaṗiitsin´k̇ǎasim,” Robert Hall speaks in Blackfoot. This is how he introduces himself in his native language, translating to: “hello, I am Piikuni, my name is Elk Robe, my English name is Robert Hall.”

Hall is the Blackfeet Native American Studies Director for Browning Public Schools, curating a curriculum for the Blackfoot language and preserving the tribes’ cultural traditions for the next generation. He got a shoutout from friend and language student Lily Gladstone recently when she won a Golden Globe for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone began her acceptance speech in Blackfoot, a moment that Hall won’t soon forget.

“By Lily speaking Blackfoot up there, she reminded the world of our sovereignty. She brought her sovereignty up there and she let the world know that she comes from a different place, a place that still has its laws, still has its treaties, still has its language,” Hall said.