Blood Tribe Communications Officer – Joey Sugai
The next generation of Blood Tribe talent was on full display, as the Youth showcased their incredible skills and abilities with amazing performances that left all who attended with a sense of both pride and joy.
“You can’t put a price on it,” said Tribal member JoAnne Lemieux, who was in attendance.
“It made my evening to see those little ones performing.”
On January 23, 2026, ten Blood Tribe youth, between the ages of 5 and 16, took the stage at the Multi-Purpose Building in Standoff as part of Blood Tribe Recreation and Parks’ first Youth Talent Show.
The evening featured a variety of performances, including a solo piano and guitar set, solo and duo singing sets, and a comedic puppet show that kicked off the evening.
Sixteen-year-old Ocean Wells also shared some of her artwork as well as an audio pre-recording of her playing the piano.
The comedic puppet show was performed by eleven-year-old Tuff Morning Bird, whose personal story helped inspire Blood Tribe Recreation and Parks to create a talent show, as they wanted to provide Blood Tribe youth, like Morning Bird, an opportunity to display their talents after hearing his story.
The idea for the talent show came about a month ago after Blood Tribe Recreation and Parks Program Supervisor, Lydia Mistaken Chief, saw a Facebook post about Morning Bird, which was posted by his mom, talking about how Tuff was getting excited to do a puppet show down at the BTA building as a fundraiser, which never happened.
“So we were fundraiser for his hockey tournament and we were doing a Find the Joker board and there was a day when I was like well son we’re going to go down to the building in Standoff and you got take your puppet and you know like you and your puppet are going to have to perform and we got to get people to buy squares and he was like really ready,” says Tuff’s mother, Paige Yellowhorn.
After hearing about how Tuff was kind of disappointed when his mom jokingly told him that he wasn’t going to go down to the BTA Building to perform with his puppets, Mistaken Chief and her colleagues started planning as soon as they returned to work after the Christmas Holidays to organize a talent show.
Not only did the talent show provide the youth with an opportunity to display their skills, but it also helped them work through their nervousness and build their confidence during their performance.
“Like it was my first one, so I was actually pretty scared, but after doing it, it just felt good,” says Morning Bird, who performed with his two puppets, Aunty Grandma Martha and The Rez Dog.
“And in my second act, you could tell I was feeling good,” says Morning Bird, who claims he had a combination of excitement, nervousness, and confidence in his second performance.
“The more confidence-building would be great,” says parent Mariah Henricksen, who would like to see more events like the talent show being offered on the Reserve due to all the positive effects it has on the youth. “I think it was very encouraging for the children because there are not many opportunities like these.”
Overall, Blood Tribe Recreation and Parks Program Supervisor Lydia Mistaken Chief was pleased with how the event turned out and with the performances the youth delivered.
“You know what, seeing those kids and their talent, it’s unbelievable, they did awesome,” says Mistaken Chief.
“I think by giving them that second chance, you could even see them shine more,” states Mistaken Chief, referring to the second act the youth performed.
The event had no judges, and every youth who participated was awarded a cash prize for their courage to perform in public.
The evening concluded with a special guest performance from Rudy Strangling Wolf, the lead singer of Rudz Crew, who sang a couple of songs to wrap up the event.
Blood Tribe Recreation and Parks are currently planning to host another talent show, which may take place in March or April.
The department would like to encourage all youth to register and all Tribal members to come out and support the youth and enjoy an awesome night of entertainment, as their goal is to make the next show bigger and better than the first.
