Latest news with #BlackfootConfederacy
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Groundbreaking' ancient DNA research confirms Pueblo peoples' ties to famous Chaco Canyon site
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A "groundbreaking" DNA analysis of a small Pueblo tribe in New Mexico supports what their oral tradition has long described — that they're related to ancestral people who lived on their land, as well as to Indigenous people who lived a few hundreds miles away at Chaco Canyon. The new research is the first DNA evidence that the federally recognized tribe, known as Picuris Pueblo, has ancestral ties to Chacoans buried at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a place many Southwest Indigenous peoples consider sacred. "We've always said we have this deep connection to Chaco Canyon," study co-author Craig Quanchello, the lieutenant governor of Picuris Pueblo, said at a news conference on April 29. "It not only runs through our veins, but now through science." Picuris Pueblo, where the tribe lives, is in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico, about 60 miles (100 kilometres) north of Santa Fe. It was historically one of the most populated pueblos, with over 3,000 tribal members around 1600. But in the decades following European contact in 1591, death, disease and religious persecution reduced the Picuris population significantly. Now, tribal membership is around 300 individuals. Related: Ancient Indigenous lineage of Blackfoot Confederacy goes back 18,000 years to last ice age, DNA reveals Oral histories from Picuris elders have long connected the tribe to Chaco Canyon, Picuris Pueblo Governor Wayne Yazza said at the news conference. But knowledge lost over centuries of violence has led to gaps in historical knowledge. To learn more about their genetic heritage, Picuris Pueblo leadership contacted researchers in 2020. In that study, whose results were published Wednesday (April 30) in the journal Nature, researchers analyzed ancient DNA from 16 individuals buried in Picuris Pueblo dated to between 500 and 700 years ago, as well as 13 genomes from currently enrolled members of Picuris Pueblo. They compared these genomes to 590 ancient and modern genomes from the Americas and Siberia, since the first Americans traveled across a land bridge connecting Siberia with Alaska during the last ice age at least 23,000 years ago. Their results revealed that the modern Picuris are related to those who lived in the pueblo centuries ago. The analysis also indicated that the Picuris are related to Anzick-1, a child who lived 13,000 years ago in what is now Montana and was part of an Indigenous American group called the Clovis. But "part of their [the Picuris] ancestry is actually older than the ancestry that we find in the Clovis individual," study lead author Thomaz Pinotti, a geogeneticist at the University of Copenhagen, said at the news conference. The study also found a genetic link between the Picuris and nine individuals buried centuries ago in Chaco Canyon's Pueblo Bonito between 800 and 1130. Those individuals were analyzed in a 2017 Nature Communications study that faced backlash from tribal nations and researchers for failing to consult with local tribes during the study's design. "We were pretty twisted up about using these data, because we knew how controversial they were," study co-author Mike Adler, an associate professor of anthropology at Southern Methodist University, said at the news conference. "When we brought this up to the tribal council, it was a very simple response: 'That's not your call. That's our call. You should use these data, because it's an avenue to better our understanding of our own past.'" RELATED STORIES —The 1st Americans were not who we thought they were —13 of the oldest archaeological sites in the Americas —Did humans cross the Bering Strait after the land bridge disappeared? Meradeth Snow, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Montana who wasn't involved in the study, told Live Science the new study is "groundbreaking in a lot of ways." "The fact that this was really something that was initiated by the Picuris [people] — that is amazing and really interesting," she said. However, she emphasized that this type of partnership may not be of interest to other Indigenous peoples. Western scientists have a long history of taking Native American ancestral remains and conducting studies without permission from tribes. "I understand that there's definitely going to be different tribes in that region that are not going to be for this [type of DNA analysis]. And that's totally understandable. There's certainly been plenty of abuse of DNA data."
CBC
09-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Blackfoot leaders cautiously optimistic after signing memorandum with City of Calgary
The Blackfoot Confederacy signed a memorandum of understanding on communication and co-operation with the City of Calgary. Officials say the protocol agreement formalizes a renewed relationship built on mutual trust, respect, reciprocity and honesty.
CTV News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
‘A collaborative future': City of Calgary, Blackfoot Confederacy sign historic agreement
A 'memorandum of understanding on communication and co-operation' has been signed by the City of Calgary and nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy.
Calgary Herald
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
City of Calgary signs deal for closer ties with Blackfoot Confederacy
The City of Calgary on Friday signed an agreement with a group of Indigenous organizations deemed to be the first of its kind, although doubts about whether the terms in the document would be respected linger among First Nations members. Article content Article content The Memorandum of Understanding on Communication and Co-operation between the city and the Blackfoot Confederacy will determine how the two governing bodies engage with one another and strengthen their relationship. Article content Article content The document includes 10 non-binding agreements, such as wishing to learn about one another and identifying opportunities for collaboration; establishing a productive working relationship based on areas of mutual benefit; and affirming mutual respect and collaboration to promote environmental sustainability. Article content Article content The event, which was attended by the chiefs of several communities, including Piikani and Siksika First Nations, began with a privately held pipe ceremony, a sacred Indigenous tradition in which participants vow to be truthful and respectful while following the agreements made at the time of the meeting. Article content 'We are on a journey with nation partners to understand how we best enter into relationships,' Mayor Jyoti Gondek told reporters. Article content 'And being able to do this memorandum of understanding today and to sit in ceremony before that is a really important way for us to engage with Indigenous partners and to understand what partnership actually looks like.' Article content Article content Piikani Nation Chief Troy Knowlton said to 'recognize that this land is Siksikaitsitapi — Blackfoot — that's an honour.' Article content 'Time will tell' if agreement will be respected, chief says Article content However, he was quick to point out his disappointment with how a memorandum between Indigenous organizations and Alberta was purportedly breached following legislation proposed by the UCP government that, among other things, makes it easier for a referendum to leave Canada to appear as a ballot question. Article content 'It tells us that the MOU is not being honoured and that it's not being respected,' Knowlton said. 'And I made comments to the City of Calgary, the time will tell if this MOU has something that's going to be respected by the city.' Article content He added he hopes the agreement leads to partnerships in several industries that will yield economic benefits for his community members, starting with tourism. Article content 'Tourism is one of the biggest parts of the economic drivers of this province,' Knowlton said. 'One of the problems I see with the Indigenous Tourism Association, they're all led by Metis. Article content 'They don't look like me. So when you're looking at the Indigenous Tourism of Alberta that's led by people who look Caucasian, who want to cash in on the Metis type of self-identification, that doesn't help us a whole lot.'
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Why Trump's 'Imaginary' Canada-US border remark oversimplifies centuries of treaty, conflict, and compromise
Continue to video 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by The origins: from revolution to the 49th Parallel Live Events Borderlines through indigenous lands British Columbia, railroads, and the threat of American expansion The Alaska panhandle dispute: a diplomatic setback Not just a line: a modern-day reality Conclusion: more than a ruler's stroke US President Donald Trump stirred controversy again this week by calling the Canada-US border an 'artificially drawn line,' claiming it was created 'with a ruler' across the top of North America. Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during a media appearance at the White House on May 6, Trump doubled down on his long-held idea that the international boundary is little more than an "imaginary" divider."When you look at it, somebody drew that line many years ago with, like, a ruler — just a straight line right across the top of the country," Trump said. When reporters asked Carney for a response, he quipped: 'I'm glad that you couldn't tell what was going through my mind.'Also read: Canada–US relations in 2025: a cross-border partnership tested by politics and trade But while the border may appear simple on modern maps, historians argue that this perspective dangerously oversimplifies centuries of complex negotiations, Indigenous displacement, colonial land deals, and treaty-making. The 8,891-kilometre-long Canada-US border — the longest undefended boundary in the world — was not the product of a single act but rather the outcome of over 125 years of treaty wrangling, surveying expeditions, and political foundation of the modern border dates back to the 1783 Treaty of Paris, signed at the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War. It marked the initial lines between the new United States and British North America. But it was only the beginning of an evolving process that required decades to fully Stephen Bown, author of Dominion: The Railway and the Rise of Canada, notes that many early treaties were drawn by diplomats who had never stepped foot in the lands they were dividing. "The maps they used were wildly inaccurate," Bown says. "Often, the people signing these deals had no real understanding of the geography or the Indigenous communities already living there."Also read: Canadians, don't travel to the US before reading this, new measures could ruin your travel plans The Treaty of 1818 significantly shaped the western boundary, establishing the now-famous 49th parallel as the dividing line from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains. The straight-line demarcation made surveying easier, but it ignored natural features, human geography, and traditional Indigenous imposition of these arbitrary lines had devastating impacts on Indigenous Peoples, whose ancestral lands spanned what would later become Canada and the United States. One prominent example is the Blackfoot Confederacy, whose territory historically stretched from the Canadian Prairies into present-day Montana.'These boundaries weren't just imaginary — they were imposed on communities who never agreed to them,' says Craig Baird, host of the Canadian History Ehx podcast. 'The idea that this was all just drawn with a ruler minimizes the real consequences.'In fact, Bown emphasizes that many land claims were fraudulent or at least morally questionable. He cites the 1869 acquisition of Rupert's Land by Canada from the Hudson's Bay Company — a deal that transferred massive swaths of Indigenous territory to the Canadian government for £300,000. 'The Hudson's Bay Company didn't own that land,' Bown explains. 'They just pretended they did, and Britain went along with it.'By the mid-19th century, America's doctrine of Manifest Destiny — the belief that the US was divinely destined to expand across North America — placed pressure on British colonial holdings in the West. There were real fears that British Columbia might be annexed by the USAlso read: Sorry, not sorry, America: why Canadians are rethinking everything U.S. To prevent this, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald offered the colony an ambitious deal: join Confederation in exchange for a transcontinental railway. The resulting Canadian Pacific Railway helped secure B.C. as part of Canada in 1871 and further reinforced the border with the US'Railways were as much about sovereignty and statecraft as they were about transportation,' Bown says. 'Without that railway promise, we may have seen a very different map today.'The last major adjustment to the border came in 1908 with the settlement of the Alaska boundary dispute. At issue was control over the southeastern panhandle — a coastal strip critical to Yukon's access to the Pacific between the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom resulted in a decision favoring the Americans. 'The British were trying to improve relations with the US at the time,' says Baird. 'And Canada was effectively overruled in the process.'As a result, key ports like Juneau remained American, and the Yukon was left landlocked — a decision that still stings for some historians and the Canada-US border is more than just a line on a map. It supports nearly $2 billion in daily trade and represents one of the most peaceful international boundaries on the planet. It cuts through lakes, forests, towns, and even homes — yet remains a symbol of long-standing diplomatic as Baird notes, the border's permanence isn't up for debate. 'Redrawing it in the 21st century is practically impossible,' he says. 'It's been there for centuries. You can't just erase it with a Sharpie.'Also read: 'Canada won't be for sale': Carney-Trump showdown at the White House President Trump's comment may have been intended to provoke, but it also reveals a lack of understanding about the painstaking history that defines one of the world's most significant international from being an arbitrary or imaginary line, the Canada-US border is the product of generations of legal wrangling, Indigenous dispossession, and political maneuvering. While it may look simple on a map, its roots run deep in the complex history of North America — a history that cannot be flattened into a single quote or political soundbite.
