Description
The Tsuut?ina Nation, "a great number of people", formerly Sarcee, Sarsi) is a First Nation band government in Alberta, Canada. The Tsuut?ina are an Athabaskan group, once part of the more northerly Dane-zaa ('Beaver Indians') nation, who migrated south onto the Great Plains during the 1700s, prior to any written records of the area. Tsuut?ina oral history has preserved the memory of their separation from the Dane-zaa. The Tsuut?ina likely acquired most of their Plains Indian culture from the Blackfoot.[citation needed] Although in most respects the Tsuut?ina are typical Northern Plains Indians.
Language
Athabaskan
Culture
The Sarcee adopted several aspects of Blackfoot culture, including military societies and the Sun Dance. As hunting and gathering provided them with sustenance, tobacco was their only crop; it was planted with much ceremony. They lived as nomads on the Plains, using wooden travois drawn by dogs to transport their goods, including their painted buffalo-hide tepees, particularly prior to the introduction of the horse in the early 18th century. These bands wintered separately in sheltered river valleys. In the summer they gathered in a great encampment to observe the Sun Dance, the principal tribal religious ceremony.