Editing Blackfoot Confederacy (section)

====Economy and services====
[[File:Chief Old Person at USDA 150th Anniversary celebration.jpg|thumb|[[Earl Old Person]], honorary chief of the Blackfoot.]]

Today, many{{quantify|date=August 2012}} of the Blackfoot live on reserves in Canada. About 8,500 live{{when|date=August 2012}} on the Montana reservation of {{convert|1500000|acre|km2}}. In 1896, the Blackfoot sold a large portion of their land to the United States government, which hoped to find gold or copper deposits. No such mineral deposits were found. In 1910, the land was set aside as [[Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park]]. Some Blackfoot work there and occasional Native American ceremonies are held there.<ref name="Gibson, 35-42" />

Unemployment is a challenging problem on the Blackfeet Reservation and on Canadian Blackfoot reserves, because of their isolation from major urban areas. Many people work as farmers, but there are not enough other jobs nearby. To find work, many Blackfoot have relocated from the reservation to towns and cities. Some companies pay the Blackfoot governments to lease use of lands for extracting oil, natural gas, and other resources. The nations have operated such businesses such as the [[Blackfoot Writing Company]], a pen and pencil factory, which opened in 1972, but it closed in the late 1990s. In Canada, the Northern Piegan make traditional craft clothing and moccasins, and the Kainai operate a shopping center and factory.<ref name="Gibson, 35-42" />

In 1974, the Blackfoot Community College, a [[tribal college]], opened in [[Browning, Montana]]. The school is also the location of the tribal headquarters. As of 1979, the Montana state government requires all public school teachers on or near the reservation to have a background in [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|American Indian]] studies.

In 1986, the [[Kainai Nation]] opened the [[Red Crow Community College]] in [[Stand Off, Alberta]]. In 1989, the Siksika tribe in Canada completed the construction of a high school to go along with its elementary school.<ref name="Gibson, 35-42" />