Geographically, they have occupied a different continent from that of the invaders who have manufactured the nation's multicultural policies. Culturally, they have maintained a unique stance of respecting the balance of nature with technological advance being assigned a subordinate or corollary status. In economic terms, they occupy the lower levels of income groups in Canada making it difficult for them to wield a significant power base. Aboriginal peoples hold in common with other Canadians the concept that language and culture are inextricably bound together. However, the process of achieving or maintaining a functional level of language usage is complex.
Language is, after all, a living phenomenon.
Native languages have been rapidly changing over the last two decades. Where once the Native language was the vehicle by which to transmit Indian values and respect, it has at least been partially replaced by English. It is important to learn English in order to attain the language skills and concepts essential to surviving in the dominant monoculture. The Stoney community is centered at Morley, Alberta. The population of the three bands, Bear's Paw, Chiniki, and Goodstoney, is nearly twenty-seven hundred.