Earl Old Person

Earl Old Person (Blackfeet names , "Cold Wind", and , "Charging Home"; April 13, 1929 – October 13, 2021) was an American Indian political leader and the honorary lifetime chief of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, United States.

Early years Born on April 13, 1929, on his family's land, known as Grease Wood, near Starr School, Montana on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Earl Old Person was a full-blooded member of the Blackfeet tribe, the son of Juniper and Molly Old Person. He was raised along with many siblings. He went to elementary school in the community of Starr School, Montana, and graduated in 1947 from Browning High School in Browning, Montana. He credited his success in life to his parents, who continually encouraged him to try hard and to excel in school. He was raised in a traditional manner, of the last generation to speak the Blackfoot language as his first language, only learning English when he reached elementary school. He learned many traditional Blackfeet stories, songs, and dances, his memory helping preserve the Blackfeet culture decades later.

Leadership career Earl Old Person at Montana ExpoPark in 2018, wearing the traditional headdress granted to him many years earlier when he was inducted into the Kainai Chieftainship. In 1950, Old Person got a job in the tribe's land office, where one of his jobs was to be an interpreter for Blackfeet people who did not understand or speak English.

Old Person was encouraged by tribal elders to enter politics, and was elected in 1954 to his first term as a member of his tribe's governing body, the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council, as the youngest person ever elected to the post. He continued as a member of the tribal council until he retired in 2016, serving in elected office longer than any other elected official in Montana history. He was also the longest-serving elected tribal official in America.

In July 1978, Old Person was appointed honorary lifetime Chief of the Blackfeet Nation. He considered this the greatest honor ever bestowed upon him. His son, James White Calf, born about 1858, succeeded to the title and lived to be well over 100, dying in 1970. Several years later, the family of James White Calf formally bestowed the tribal chieftainship upon Old Person. The Siksika Nation noted in a 2021 press release that Old Person had been inducted into the chieftainship "several decades ago" for "his work and dedication towards the indigenous people of North America."

Old Person’s advocacy included promoting legislation that included the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, which protected access to traditional Native sites and religious freedom. Among his accomplishments, he served on a committee that founded the nation's first tribally owned bank.

Though he never attended college, Old Person promoted higher education and, in 1991, the University of Montana endowed a scholarship in his name for Blackfeet students. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1994 from the University of Montana in Humane Letters. In 1999, he was the first person awarded the University of Lethbridge's Christine Miller Memorial Award for Excellence in Native American Studies.

In retirement, Old Person began an Archives Project to preserve Blackfeet Tribal Governmental documents. He also worked to preserve Blackfeet History and Culture to teach young members about their ancestors through his leadership of the Charging Home Society for Pikuni Education and Cultural Preservation Program.

US Senator Jon Tester stated, "Chief Old Person was a fierce advocate for the Blackfeet Nation and all of Indian Country for his entire life, and the world is a better place because he was in it." The Governor of Montana ordered flags in the state to be flown at half staff in Old Person's honor. At the University of Montana's fall 2021 commencement ceremony, a moment of silence was held for Old Person, and the Rawhide Orchestra played a warrior society song to honor him.

A $300,000 endowment established in November 2021 to support the annual Kyiyo Pow Wow at the University of Montana is named after Old Person, as is a scholarship at Blackfeet Community College.