Donald Pepion

New Mexico State University | NMSU · Department of Anthropology

This chapter introduces the epistemology and ontology of Indigenous ways of knowing. In order to understand the complex concepts, principles and philosophy of Indigenous worldview, much of the discussion is in the context of the Blackfeet (or Pikuni) knowledge. I share my individual experiences in learning Blackfeet (Pikuni) ceremony as a way of co...

Historically examining the cultural foundation for traditional leadership within the Blackfoot Confederacy, composed of the Blackfeet (Pikuni or South Piegan) in Montana, USA, and the North Piegan, Blood (Kainai), and Blackfoot (Siksika) in Alberta, Canada, reveals that authority for leadership is grounded in tribal spirituality. This spiritual aut...

The General Allotment Act of 1887, or the Dawes Act as it came to be known, authorized the president of the United States to divide American Indian lands into private sections to be allotted to individual members of the tribes. The act was designed to move Indians from tribal ways into "mainstream" U.S. American life. According to Scherer, the Dawe...

Despite great improvements in recent decades, the health status of American Indians continues to lag behind that of other Americans. Continued health improvement will depend largely on changes in individual behavior. However, few data exist on health risk behaviors among American Indians. We used face-to-face interviews to estimate the prevalence o...

Only limited fertility and general reproductive health data exist on American Indians. Using data from the 1987 Montana American Indian Health Risk Assessment, we found that the fertility of American Indians in Great Falls and on the Blackfeet Reservation was similar to blacks in the U.S. and relatively high when compared with fertility of whites i...

Typescript. Thesis (Ed. D.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 1999. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robert A. Fellenz. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 202-207).