Running Eagle

Running Eagle (Pi'tamaka) was a Native American woman and war chief

Early life Running Eagle was oldest among her siblings and was residing in Southern Alberta, Canada. As a child, she preferred to play with boys rather than girls, and at age 12, she began to wear boys' clothing.

Her father taught her the same things he taught her brothers, even though it was against her mother's wishes. Running Eagle's father was an important warrior and taught her how to hunt and fight. and although she led war parties and wore men's clothes, it is said that she also cooked for the men and repaired their moccasins—which were tasks typically done by the women of the tribe, and as such the men had likely never been taught how to do so for themselves.

Death and legacy She died sometime after 1878 in a battle against the Flathead warriors.

Today, the Pitamakan Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana is named after her. Montana is the site where many of her Blackfeet descendants still reside on a reservation in modern-day America.

Other uses of name There is a long-running joke about U.S. politicians being given the honorary name "Running Eagle" or "Walking Eagle" as part of a tribal ceremony, only to later learn that it means "a bird so full of shit that it can't fly".