#running eagle

Running Eagle was a warrior woman from the Piegan Tribe of the Blackfoot Nation. She was born as “Pitamakan” in Southern Alberta, Canada, and her nickname was “Brown Weasel Woman”.

She was known for many brave deeds; when she was a young girl, hunting with her father, they were attacked by the Assiniboine and her father’s horse was shot down.

She rode back, took her father on her horse and saved his life.

Later in her life, her husband was killed by some Crow Warriors. She decided to avenge him and became a Blackfeet warrior.

Allegedly, the Sun Spirit told her that she would have great power in wars until she restrains herself from sexual relations with another man. She had many successful raids after this revelation, up until she was intimate with a man from her party.

“She was a Native American woman and war chief of the Blackfeet Tribe, known for her success in battle. When she was young, during a hunting expedition, the group was attacked by the Assiniboine, an enemy tribe. She saved her father’s life. When her tribe’s warriors headed out to raid a Crow camp, she tagged along, and she successfully captured 11 horses for the tribe, she also took down two enemy Crow men who attempted to reclaim the stolen goods on the way back to camp. She gained the full respect from the tribe after going on a vision quest, and continued to lead many successful war parties and hunting expeditions. She never married.”

This is an open call for Native interview participants (especially PIKUNI women and girls) with Skype/Google Hangout capabilities or located in the NYC metro area. Phone interviews can also be conducted. Native people of all ages, genders, bqs, and tribal affiliations welcome. Children, mothers, and elders especially encouraged to participate! Interview participants will be asked open-ended questions about the story of Pi'tamaka/Pitamakan/Running Eagle, transmission of oral history, storytelling, and indigenous representation in media/film. These interviews are preliminary steps to assess the possibility of creating an animated feature film (Native-made) based on the life of Pi'tamaka. Interviews will be unpaid but your interviewer will order you a pizza. No seriously, we'll order you a pizza. All lovers of Pi'tamaka and PIZZA (or Chinese food, we're flexible) please send an email to [email protected] containing your name, age, tribal affiliation(s), and any other information you'd like to share with us. We'll send you back more information about how interviews are being conducted, where the footage will go, and about the project in general. Interviews will be conducted within the next 1-2 months at your convenience.

Hi. I'm doing a project around her and representation/identification in media for my thesis and I really really want to do a video interview with you about her/her story and Native representation in children's/family media.

Running Eagle was a Blackfoot woman who rescued her father after his horse was shot by an enemy tribe. The name Running Eagle was bestowed upon her for her bravery, and she was invited to join a warrior society, and acted as a female war chief. She was eventually clubbed to death by members of the Flathead tribe in 1850 when she was caught trying to steal their horses during a battle.

Running Eagle / Two Spirit