Napi Says
You may have heard of the game Simon Says. It’s a fun game that helps children strengthen motor skills, improve working memory, and learn to follow directions. We included Simon Says in our original game curriculum for preschoolers.
More recently, a second version of the game was adapted to include Blackfoot elements. It is called Napi Says, or Awanii Na Napi, and the full instructions can be found here. The game provides a valuable opportunity to become more familiar with the Blackfoot language and culture.
If you are interested in the rest of our Blackfoot games, you can visit our resources page and download all of the games for free.
Read more about the Blackfoot legend of Napi the Trickster.
Acknowledgements: The final translations and pronunciations of the Blackfoot language printed in the BBT Games with Blackfoot have been produced by Mary Ellen Little Mustache and Roseanne Bottle, respectively. The Blackfoot Dictionary referred to was from Blackfoot Dictionary of Stems, Roots, and Affixes: Third Edition by Donald, G. Frantz and Norma Jean Russell.
We would also like to thank Annette Bruised Head for a final confirmation for pictures, spelling and phonetics. Annette is the Division Principal for First Nation Metis Inuit Holy Spirit Catholic School Division. Some of the Blackfoot words and expressions have come from the Online Blackfoot Dictionary at https://dictionary.blackfoot.atlas-ling.ca.
We would sincerely like to thank Julius Delaney for his expertise with the Blackfoot language with some of the translations and demonstration of the sounds and meanings of the Blackfoot translation of the Building Brain games from the English language. He has also provided some insight to games for children (ie. Hi/Low with Circle Time). We also sincerely thank Sandra Lamouche, the FNMI Success Coordinator at the Livingstone Range School Division in Fort MacLeod, Alberta. Sandra and staff have also provided some very wonderful cultural ideas for the games with the Blackfoot language (ie. Pretend Play, Dimensional Card Sort, Napi Says, Red Light, Green Light, Circle Time, Shared Project and Right is Right).