Akak'stiman
A Blackfoot Framework for Decision-Making and Mediation Processes

Reg Crowshoe and Sybille Manneschmidt

About the Book

Today, two health structures exist on the Peigan reserve. One is based on Blackfoot culture, and the other is based on western European theories of health and healing. Although both methods are used on the reserve, the government only acknowledges the western approach. This book describes Blackfoot healing traditions, their spiritual foundations, and their historical development in great detail. Akak'stiman shows how Blackfoot healing methods can be integrated with western approaches on the Peigan reserve. Oral evidence from interviews with elders and historical documents bring varying approaches to this timely topic. This book is an important document in the neglected field of First Nations procedures and philosophies.

About the Authors

Reg Crowshoe is a well-known Blackfoot ceremonialist who lives on the Peigan reserve in southern Alberta. He is the director of the Oldman River Cultural Centre and has pioneered and initiated cross-cultural programs for many organizations and institutions across Western Canada. Reg is the son of the revered Native spiritual leader Joe Crowshoe and recently earned an honorary doctorate in law from the Univerisity of Calgary.

Sybille Manneschmidt is a psychologist, international health consultant, author, and rancher. She earned her doctorate from the University of Alberta and has worked with the Peigan nation for fifteen years. She makes her home in southern Alberta, where she is a sessional teacher at the University of Lethbridge.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• History of the Peigan People
• Social Structures
• Peigan/Blackfoot Concepts of Sacred Bundles and their Functions
• Transfer Rites
• The Blackfoot Circle Structure Process
• Healing, Health Services, and Health Providers
• The Blackfoot Circle Structure Model and its Application to Health Administration
• An Application to Mediation Processes in Child Protection and in Business
• Conclusion
• Appendices
• Notes
• Bibliography

Of Related Interest

Ancestral Portraits: The Colour of My People
Sacred Objects and Sacred Places: Preserving Tribal Traditions
Doing Things the Right Way: Dene Traditional Justice in Lac La Martre, N.W.T.

Orders

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