Earl Old Person (Blackfeet names Stu Sapoo, "Cold Wind", and Ahka Pa Ka Pee, "Charging Home";[1] April 13, 1929 – October 13, 2021) was an American Indian political leader and the honorary lifetime chief of the Blackfeet Nation (Amskapi’Piikáni) in Montana, United States.

"[6] His family said that each day his parents greeted their children with the words "IItahmiskinatoonii niipowaht iikakiima", meaning "good morning, get up, try hard", [6] or "Jump up!

"[5] His childhood home lacked central heat and indoor plumbing, but he lived within what remained of the horse culture of the Blackfeet people.

In 1936, when he was only seven years old, the Browning High School basketball team earned its first trip to the state tournament in Great Falls and Old Person performed at halftime.

At age nine, he traveled to Cleveland and New York City for six weeks, where he performed traditional Blackfeet song and dance at schools, colleges and civic organizations as part of an effort to raise funds to build a new church on the reservation.

[7] As a teenager, he played basketball for Browning High School, keeping his long braids in spite of pushback from his coaches and harassment from opposing players.

[1][9][16] 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.

He was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to attend the 1978 Commonwealth Games, where he met members of the British royal family and Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

[5][19] 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.

John Murray, the Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, explained, "Earl stayed close to it and he's been an advocate for promoting the language and was able to retain them songs.

[23] 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.

[25] 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.

[26] 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,[27] as is a scholarship at Blackfeet Community College.