Summer 2022

Newsletter Archive

Gifts of Scarface - International Blackfoot Research Conference

In mid-June Holly attended two days of the Gifts of Scarface - International Blackfoot Research Conference: Culture as Medicine, hosted by the Blackfeet Community College in Browning, Montana. The conference was held to honor the traditional research process of the Siksikaitsitapi, which includes the Amskapi Piikani (Blackfeet - Southern Piegan), Siksika Nation (Blackfoot), Piikani Nation (Piegan), and Kaiaiwa Nation (Blood). The Miistakis Institute is working with Blood Tribe Land Management - Environmental Division and the Kainai Ecosystem Protection Association (KEPA) on beaver coexistence and restoration work. The conference was an excellent learning opportunity to hear representatives of KEPA present the great environmental conservation work they are undertaking such as the Kainai Inni Rematriation Initiative, Naapi's Garden food security program and the Katoyiss Seed Bank, among others. Presenters from the Blackfeet Community College and Waterton Lakes National Park presented on their respective youth environmental education programs, reconnecting youth to the land and species of ecological and cultural importance. Holly enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with our beaver project partners, meet new people, and learn of the diversity of research projects underway.

To learn more about the other research that was highlighted during the conference, visit the conference website.