History

Asini Wachi Nehiyawak (Rocky Mountain People)

The Mountain People has historically occupied the Plains, Foothills, and Mountains of Alberta,  British Columbia, Saskachewan, Manitoba, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Minnesota. They were the biggest division of the Western Plains Indians.

The main political figure of the Rocky Mountain People of the early nineteenth century, and forbearer was Louis Piche (Pesew/Pisu). Born to a French-Canadian fur trader and his Indian wife, Piche traveled extensively through the traditional territory of his people, guiding David Thompson from Rocky Mountain House to Jasper and HBC Governor George Simpson from Edmonton to Washington State.

In terms of geographic extensiveness, the core territory of Piche and his followers extended from Banff North past the Saskatchewan River to Jasper, West through the Mountain passes, and East into the plains. However, the group was highly mobile and ranged as far as North as Lesser Slave Lake, South through the Mountains into Washington State and Oregon, and Southeast into Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota..

Following the death of Louis Piche, the Rocky Mountain People fragmented. Driven by poor trapping conditions and competition from other groups. Droves of Euro-Canadian settlers provoked a rapid decline in wild game and the intensification of disease. The Asini Wachi Nehiyawak Tribe continued to travel throughout their traditional lands to the West and South, in the areas around Jasper and Banff, to hunt, fish, and gather according to traditional customs and for sustenance purposes which still continues today.

Documentary reference to the Mountain People begins in 1630 and continues into the present.


By Supreme Court of Canada rulings, Tribes that have never surrendered any lands or rights are deemed as legally not having surrendered such property or rights, and still retain the full rights to the title, resources and use, and enjoyment of such property and rights. AWN is recognized by the Government of Canada as a Tribe with Sovereignty,  which still retains its rights, and falls under the Supreme Court rulings under Treaty with the Crown and  Land Claims.



Piche Lake and Panther River are two Historic places named after Louis Piche.  (Pictured Below)