Piikani Nation celebration 2022

This years 2022 Piikani Nation Celebration Pow Wow was a huge success. We were able to hold many events as we partnered with the Piikani Nation Celebration Committee.

Thursdays events we celebrated the 2022 Piikani Princess Pageant in which all categories were up for judging. The categories included Little Miss, Miss Piikani Jr. and Miss Piikani.

The winners of this years Piikani Princess Pageant included:Little Miss: Percy Yellow Wings, Miss Piikani Jr.: Ainsley North Peigan. Miss Piikani: LaRenn Cross Child.

Then we opened the following day with Grand Entry! This three day cultural event was visited by dancers all over the North and South America. The specials held at this years Powwow included many competitions for every age range and dance.

After 63 years of celebrating, we were so excited to bring you a fantastic Pow Wow experience.

Camping at Castle and Tipi pole harvesting. 

Through the help of our sponsors from Piikani Traditional Knowledge Services we were able to experience the great outdoors of Castle Mountain!

The entire experience was beautiful beginning to end and filled with knowledge along the way. Castle Mountain has fantastic views and campsites, we were so lucky to be involved in this opportunity.

There was no end to the amount of potential on our trip, we tried fishing and swimming as much as possible and fun activities along the way.

Our main traditional activity was the authentic harvesting of Tipi poles, this included choosing the poles to cut and hauling them to then be stripped. All while being taught the importance of this land and for which it stands.

We greatly appreciate Piikani Traditional Knowledge Services for offering us the chance to visit the great Castle Mountains!

Youth summer camp

 We held our Summer Youth Camp (ages 11-17) July 4th-8th, In which we held many activities right here and around town! Many of our activities include hand-on projects for the kids such as pizza making in the kitchen at Pizza Hut!
The kids always have a chance to either try something new or enjoy something they already like! This week the kids had a chance to learn all the basics in car care, in which they changed a tire themselves!
We also included wilderness and creek walks! Where the kids can catch bugs or fish of their liking!
Our most special activity included an Amazing Race, where the kids were led all around town using their critical thinking skills to solve the race!

Most importantly with our unpredictable weather, we plan backup activities and trips to make sure the kids are always having the most fun they can! This includes swimming at the public pool and more!

Kidz summer camp

From July 11th to July 15th Napi Friendship Association held their Kidz Summer Camp for ages 6-10.

This week long event included many attractions and activities for the youth. The week started off with the kids visiting our towns Heritage Acres Farm Museum where they got a chance to enrich themselves in our local history.

As the week progressed; we were invited out to Pincher Creek Emergency Services which allowed the kids to understand the life of a Firefighter day to day including the all equipment they manage to haul around! The following day EMS Firefighters drove down to Central Park for a Fun In the Sun Day where they created a spray park for the whole town to enjoy!

Napi Friendship Association values the traditional teachings of our peoples and we focus the knowledge we give to our kids through hands-on ceremonies including Feather Games and Ceremonial Paintings of the face by Jeanie and Peter Strikes With A Gun.

The last day, Piikani RCMP and Piikani Traditional Knowledge Services partnered with Napi Friendship Association to teach the kids how to set up a Tipi and play traditional games followed by a BBQ at the Piikani RCMP Detachment with the RCMP helping cook our lunch.