Blackfeet Tribal Chief Earl Old Person dies of cancer at 92
Earl Old Person, the chief of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana and former chairman of the tribal business council, has died of cancer. He was 92.
Old Person died Wednesday at Blackfeet Community Hospital “after a long battle with cancer,” according to a post on the Facebook page of the Blackfeet Nation/Blackfeet Tribal Business Council.
“The Blackfeet People have suffered a huge loss today with the passing of Chief Old Person,” the tribe said in a statement Wednesday. “A chapter in our history has come to a close.”
Old Person was elected to the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council in 1954 and served for over 60 years. He was chairman of the business council for over 50 years, the tribe said, making him the longest serving elected tribal official in the country.