10th Annual KEPA Summit

Join us for 3 days of inspiring presentations, immersive tours to special Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) places, and networking with Blackfoot environmental leaders. The 10th Annual KEPA Summit celebrates ahokii (water) and fosters reconciliation between cultures and with the land.

1, 2 or 3 day registration options are available

Agenda

Monday, June 24th - Standoff Multipurpose Building

7:00am Pipe Ceremonies by Peter Weasel Moccasin and Mike Bruised Head

9:00am MC Tony Delaney

• Opening Prayer – Elder Charlie Crow Chief
• Travis Plaited Hair
• KEPA - Leroy Little Bear and Elliot Fox

9:30am Drought Response and Fire Prevention by Travis Coleman, Blood Tribe Emergency Services

10:00am Break - move over to Saipoyi Elementary School gym, shuttle bus available

10:15am Film Screening: Bring Them Home, presented by Helen Augare, Blackfeet Community College

12:30pm Pick up lunch at Saipoyi Elementary School, return to Multipurpose Building and eat there

1:15pm Working with Nature to Build Drought Resilience by Shannon Frank, Oldman Watershed Council

1:45pm Beaver Mimicry and Resource Guide by Helen Augare and Alicia Yellow Owl, Blackfeet Community College and Beaver Dam Analogues by Alvin First Rider, Blood Tribe Land Management

2:45pm Quijos Strategies for Protecting Sacred Watersheds in Amazonian Ecuador by Lourdes Jipa, President of the Quijos Nation of Ecuador (virtual) and Patrick Wilson, University of Lethbridge

4:00pm Closing Remarks and Directions for Tours Tomorrow by Ninna Piiksii and Api’soomaahka

Tuesday, June 25 - Field Tours

9:00am Meet at Multipurpose Building, Standoff, for introduction to the day, carpooling

9:30am Leave for tours

Option 1: Women’s buffalo jump storytelling with Melissa Quesnelle, Elder Peter Weasel Moccasin, Elder Agnes First Charger near Cayley, Alberta (1 hour drive from Standoff)

Option 2: Sacred Circle at Chief Mountain, Montana, storytelling with Marvin Weatherwax Senior, Naming Ceremony, (border crossing required, 1.25 hour drive from Standoff)

Option 3: Naapi’s Garden and Katoyiss Seed Bank with Api’soomaahka, tour of grassland restoration and garden, games and traditional meal, Kainai Nation (20 minutes from Standoff)

Wednesday, June 26 – Waterton Community Centre

9:00am Opening prayer by Elder Charlie Crow Chief, opening remarks by Park Superintendent John Festarini and Kim Pearson, Ecosystem Scientist and dignitaries

9:15am Archeology in Pahtoomksiikiimii by Dylan Frank and Jennifer Ayles

10:00am Indigenous Guardian Program by Joe Many Fingers

10:45am Break

11:00am From Prairie to Pharmacy, Medicinal plants on the Landscape by Roy Golsteyn and Hailey Shade

12:00pm Lunch at Community Centre

1:00pm Film Screening: Singing Back the Buffalo by Tasha Hubbard (pending) and Amethyst First Rider

2:30pm Water Declaration by Niina Piiksii

3:30pm Closing Remarks by Api’soomaahka