European Union and Canadian Federal Government Agricultural Representatives Visit Blood Tribe

Blood Reserve, AB — On June 2, 2025, a high-profile delegation of agricultural and agri-business representatives from the European Union and the Canadian federal government visited the Blood Reserve. 

The visit focused on the Blood Tribe Agricultural Project and the Kainai Forage Plant. The tour provided an opportunity for the Tribe to showcase our significant contributions to agricultural development and irrigation infrastructure in the region. 

Upon their arrival, the delegation was greeted by members from the BTAP and Forage Plant Trustees and members of Blood Tribe Chief and Council. Chief Travis Plaited Hair provided the opening prayer, followed by an exchange of gifts. 

Throughout the event, Chief Plaited Hair provided the necessary context of our Blackfoot teachings and how these protocols factor into both everyday life as well as our agricultural ventures.

“We are the Blackfoot Confederacy, and we are independent. But the one thing that really brings us together is our culture,” stated Chief Plaited Hair. “And in all of our ceremonies water is one of the most important elements.”

Kirby Many Fingers, Councillor and Board of Trustees member, then presented on the history of the Blood Tribe’s involvement as a central player in the development of irrigation infrastructure across what is now known as southern Alberta. 

For example, the St. Mary’s Irrigation District, which was developed after 4000 acres of reserve land had been appropriated to build the dam, as well as the Waterton Dam, could not have happened without Blood Tribe Cooperation. These two projects alone made it possible to irrigate approximately 600,000 acres of land in southern Alberta.

“Chief Shot Both Sides had the foresight to say, ‘if we’re going to do this, it’s going to be in exchange for [our own] future irrigation development,” said Many Fingers.

However, Many Fingers didn’t shy away from explaining the darker side of Indigenous to government relations during this period. In the 1970s when the provincial government took over control of irrigation assets from the federal government, their promises were not honoured. 

“In theory, we could have shut off the taps to half a million acres of irrigation in southern Alberta,” explained Many Fingers.

Our leadership at the time, however, chose a more beneficial route. Under the leadership of chief Makiinimaa, a deal was reached between the Blood Tribe and provincial and federal governments. The result of these negotiations was the irrigation infrastructure that exists today.

“The plan was to be part of the global market because we were such a huge operation,” stated Many Fingers. 

“Now we have the capacity to do almost 120,000 metric tons [of timothy hay] a year. We’ve quadrupled our capacity, which brought us from a niche player to now we’re the big boys on the block.”

The Forage Plant currently provides premium timothy hay to global markets in Japan, Korea, and the Middle East. Our product is especially sought after in the horse-racing sector. We have even provided feed for a past winner of the Kentucky Derby.

Levi Black Water, BTAP General Manger, expressed his pride in the operation not only being a technological leader, but also as an operation that is run entirely by Tribe members.

“We are leading edge technology in the world, and proud to say 100% managed and operated, this portion, by our tribal members,” stated Black Water.

The EU delegation was then invited to tour the Kainai Forage Plant. Keith Hairy Bull, a dedicated five-year veteran at the plant, led the tour of the facility. He shared his story and how he began with sweeping, then onto operating a loader, to foreman, admin, and all the way to his current position as Production Supervisor. 

Donning safety vests and hard hats, the delegates were given a close look at the plant’s processing, packaging, storage, and rigorous quality assurance methods.

Hairy Bull was joined by Farm Supervisor Ryan No Runner, who both explained that environmental sustainability was a top priority for the plant’s operations.

“[The farmers] want to be able to reach their goal of 100,000 metric tons. But at the same time, we have to think about sustainability in the fields, making sure we’re conserving the soil for future use,” said No Runner.

“Like our Chief [Plaited Hair] previously said, ‘if we take care of the land, the land will take care of us,’” added Hairy Bull.

The final leg of the tour brought the delegation to one of the plant’s ten storage sheds. Each one is larger than an NFL football field and holds 10,000 metric tons of hay. Inside, the production team fielded further questions from the delegation.

During closing remarks, Chief Plaited Hair and Councillor Piinaakoyim Tail Feathers stressed the teamwork involved that makes the operation a success.

“The majority of the production is from our tribal members,” explained Chief Plaited Hair.

“At the end of the day, we all want to work together to produce a good quality product that we can ship anywhere in the world. And I think we’ve accomplished that.”

Councillor Piinaakoyim Tail Feathers echoed Chief Plaited Hair’s message.

“It brings us pride to show you all of our boys and everyone who is putting in work here. Just as our Chief stated, we don’t just want our members working in lower-level positions. We want our people to be managers, and we want them to be successful in the work they do.”

“We’re always open to new business and new opportunities for our people to succeed. The Blood Tribe’s ready to do business,” concluded Tail Feathers.

You can watch a complete video of the event at our Blood Tribe Communications Youtube page here