The Run As One Youth Awareness Week provided Siksika Nation youth and community members with the opportunity to connect, and organizers from Siksika Health Services deemed the week a success.
The week long festivities continue to serve as a mid summer nod to First Nations youth. The week featured a two-day youth conference, a basketball camp and the longest running Indigenous music festival in Canada.
The Youth Conference at the Siksika Piiksapi Memorial Arbor on August 2 to 3 had over 60 youth participants. Conference participants took part in a number of different workshops including Mini Tipi making, traditional Blackfoot games, breathing and grounding exercises and skateboarding with Cousins Skateboarding. Three Siksika Youth were given awards for Education and Leadership.
The Basketball Clinic on August 3 to 4 at the Deerfoot Sportsplex helped improve the skills of Siksika’s future basketball stars through excellent coaching by Dan Pearson and Phil Barndt, former University of Calgary Dinos basketball team coaches.
The Run As One Music Festival on August 4 is the longest running Indigenous Music Festival in Canada. The 18th year proved to be its best as it featured headliner Joel West and Highway 40, presented by the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMAs). The festival put First Nations Talent on stage with headliners Fawn Wood, Jax Running Rabbit, Meisha and the Spanks, Mama Rude, the Pretendians, Toosick, and NDN Family,