By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald Lethbridge Polytechnic is hosting their annual Stone Pipe Days, which commemorates the day the institution received its Blackfoot name. In 2017 Peter Moccasin, Kainai Kaahsinnooik (Grandparent) gifted the then-Lethbridge College with the Blackfoot name Ohkotoki’aahkkoiyiiniimaan, which translates to “stone pipe,” along with a stone pipe which is used in Blackfoot culture in sacred ceremonies and offerings. Jordan Head, Indigenous cultural advisor for Lethbridge Polytechnic, says the collaboration between the Nisitapi (Blackfoot) people and the polytechnic is important because their culture was not recognized until the 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was released in 2015. “In the past the culture of Nisitapi was not really recognized until the last 10 years because of the TRC,” said…
Register
