Blood Tribe Employment and Skills Training Partners with Issoitapi Elementary School for Earth Day 2026 Celebrations
by Blood Tribe Communications
Levern, AB. — Blood Tribe Employment and Skills Training and Issoitapi Elementary School marked Earth Day this week with educational presentations and a community cleanup.
“Both the school and BTEST are trying to go green. We all want to be more energy efficient. For instance, we have our solar panels, and they have their wind turbine. Everybody here is trying to do more for the environment,” says Jaime Blood, Employment Officer with BTEST.
Deanne Provost, Grade Three Teacher at Issoitapi Elementary, said the event’s goal was to engage youth in hands-on learning while also reinforcing the importance land stewardship to our identity as Blood Tribe members.
“I truly hope that students can take what they learned and go home and teach their families. Our youth are our greatest resource, and we have a responsibility to help them understand that, as Siksikaitsitapiiks, land is central to our identity, and it is our legacy as Blood Tribe members to look after the land and teach our youth to see the land as our living, breathing relative.”
Educational presentations were delivered in the morning, highlighting environmental issues and encouraging sustainable practices.
The event began with a prayer by Elder Mike Day Chief, followed by a presentation from Clayton Stafford, Chief Technology Officer with GreenPlanet Energy. Michelle Fox, BTEST Programs Facilitator, also spoke to students about programs and services offered by her department.
Guests and students were then treated to a screening of Anishinaabe Indigenous and water-rights activist Autumn Peltier’s short-film, “The Water Walker.” The inspirational film documents Autumn’s journey from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, on Manitoulin Island, to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to advocate for the rights of Indigenous people across Canada.
After lunch, students and staff braved the wind to participate in a cleanup of the Levern area. The day was then capped off with ice cream to thank everyone for a job well-done.
The event coincides with the community’s broader goals of combining environmental education with traditional Blackfoot teachings, especially for younger generations.
“When we start teaching the youth, they’ll always think ahead for the next generation to the next generation. They will continue this tradition of keeping the earth clean and knowing why it’s important to recycle, for example, and to provide a clean environment for our animals, for ourselves, and for what’s next to come,” said Blood.
Organizers noted that events like the Earth Day gathering are intended to build long-term awareness and responsibility among Blood Tribe youth.
“I truly believe that it is the land that will help us to heal and only by looking after it can that occur. Our youth need to see how fortunate we are to be surrounded by some of the richest natural resources found on earth; therefore, it is our responsibility to teach our youth how to look after the land, water and our non-human relatives,” says Provost.
“Our youth are learning that they come from a long line of warriors (that fiercely protected the land and all of its natural resources) and are products of their strongest ancestors.”
The Blood Tribe Community Cleanup 2026 Schedule is currently available. Community members are encouraged to participate on the selected dates. Together we can help keep our communities safe, clean, and beautiful.
For more information on these and other related events, please visit our website at Bloodtribe.org, download the Blood Tribe App, or follow our official social media accounts.
