Calgary Hitmen Partnership

The Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club and Siksika Health Services delegates hosted the 2023 Every Child Matters hockey game, on February 4, 2023.

This was the third annual Every Child Matters game presented by the Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club and Siksika Health Services, this year in partnership with presenting sponsors: Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary, the Blackfoot Confederacy, First Nations Health Consortium, and Siksika Family Services.

The Every Child Matters game is part of a much larger movement of the same name, and is a recognition and commitment to action to ensure that all children know their importance, and to honour those who attended Residential Schools in Canada, their families, and communities.

Payotapoyakii (Margaret Bad Boy)

The children who were and are impacted by IRS are all precious children. And Every Child Matters. Siksika Nation Elder, the late Mrs. Margaret Bad Boy, whose Blackfoot name was Payotapoyakii, was a living example of this, having taken many children into her home to provide them with the loving kindness and care that all children need and deserve.

This year, we are honoured to highlight the legacy of the late Siksika Elder Payotapoyakii (Margaret Bad Boy) during the Every Child Matters Hitmen hockey game. Payotapoyakii was born in the late 1800s in Siksika and lived to be over 100 years old. Payotapoyakii never had any biological children, but instead she adopted numerous (more than 100) children as her own.

During the Indian Residential School period, the Blackfoot people were slowly losing touch with their cultural ways, however Payotapoyakii became a prominent teacher for anyone willing to learn. She taught about culture, language, about how the Blackfoot lived long ago, and about how to respect others— which is an important value in Blackfoot culture.

Payotapoyakii’s inspirational life has encouraged many to increase their own knowledge of Blackfoot culture, and live healthy, holistic lives. Payotapoyakii lived to be more than 100 years old by practicing her cultural ways and living a good life, including eating healthy foods, staying active, and refraining from drug use. Payotapoyakii is a true hero because she faced many hardships, but amidst them all, she saw the importance of keeping our Blackfoot culture alive, and caring for our precious children.

[SOURCE: Interview with Mrs. Laura Sitting Eagle – Siksika Nation Elder]

Siksika Health Services has invited the Calgary Hitmen Hockey Club and the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation as guests to Siksika Nation on numerous occasions over the years.