joni's birthplace, fort macleod is just north and west of the largest first nations reserve in canada, over 600sq miles, which belongs to the kainaiwa nation, formerly known as the blood tribe, a related family to the blackfoot. the blackfoot, and their associated cousins the blood, were feared as the most ferocious of the prairie indian tribes. sacred lands, now memorialized at "writing on stone" provincial park, have hieroglyphic records of their ancient forefathers. it is spectacular for its 'hoodoos', strange pillar rock form- ations. a song i wrote and recorded for a film soundtrack, "broke wing angel" is focussed upon this sacred land, scenes from this film shoot are now on my website. on any given day in fort macleod, you can usually see quite a few members of the kainaiwa nation. one of the oldest picture portraits of a 'blood indian' can be viewed here:
http://www.doubletakeart.com/cgi-bin/dtg/dt.sla?z=x&ca=x&ai=819*14129&cc=dtg the spirit of the kainaiwa people, so fierce and proud, and the great beauty of their panoramic land, with the rockies off to the west, is an appropriate atmosphere to think about when the native elements enter the music of joni mitchell. the kainaiwa nation: http://www.kainaiwa.com/ shane www.angelfire.com/art/cactussong
