Busy summer ahead

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The Siksika First Nation is inviting you out to enjoy the beautiful landscape that surrounds the community, but plan your visit around a number of exciting events Siksika will be hosting over the summer.

Located an hour east of Calgary, Siksika is nestled among a variety of historical and natural sites. Go for a hike or river raft ride, go horseback riding or take part in a wagon ride, spend some time in a tipi, or come out for a powwow or rodeo.

"We have a lot to offer. There's so much to see here and do here," said Siksika tourism co-ordinator Jeanette Many Guns. "We want to educate people about who we are, about our culture, our beliefs, our history."

Siksika will host Siksika Indian Days and Celebration, the Indian Rodeo Cowboys' Association Finals and the Alberta Service Board Agriculture Conference.

Siksika Indian Days and Celebration will be held Aug. 1 to 15. Activities include a competition powwow and a hand game tournament.

"We're just celebrating our culture. Everybody loves to dance, sing, drum. So we're just practicing our culture and at the same time we're going to be celebrating our existence," said Many Guns. "The hand game tournament is always big. There must be 50 teams that enter. It's always competitive, so the prize money is always huge."

Visitors are also welcome to camp out in a tipi set up during the celebration, which will be held at Siksika's brand new arbor. The arbor is also where the 10 km cross country race will finish when it is held on the last day of the celebration. Many Guns said the race is always popular and they get many people who enter.

"At Indian days you learn a lot about the history by talking to people. (Visitors) get a good chance to meet the traditional Blackfoot people."

The second annual Wayne "Cowboy" Many Guns Memorial Slo-pitch Tournament will be organized by the Many Guns family. The tournament will be held at the White Eagle Private Ball Diamonds at Siksika from Aug. 6 to 8 and is open to all teams. "Cowboy" Many Guns was a well known, all around athlete from Siksika who took part in boxing, the rodeo and slo-pitch tournaments.

"Proud, that's the only thing I would say. I'm proud to run it. 'Cowboy' Many Guns is well known here. When he was a little boy I coached him as a boxer until he was about 10, then he went into rodeo, boy's steer riding and stuff like that. Then about 16 he went back into boxing," said Harry Red Gun, who is helping to organize the tournament. "He's well known in Siksika. Everybody knows him as that. Nobody called him Wayne. They call him 'Cowboy'. They all know him as 'Cowboy'."

The entry fee to enter the tournament is $250 and registration will be closed on Aug. 1.

Tournament trophies will be awarded to teams that place first to third and the winners will also receive cash prizes.

The Indian Rodeo Cowboys' Association Finals are scheduled from Sept. 10 to 12. The top 10 Aboriginal cowboys and cowgirls will compete at the rodeo, with the winners of each category going on to compete at the World Indian Finals, which will be held in Sobabo, California. Many Guns said they are expecting 4,000 to 5,000 people to attend the rodeo.

The Alberta Service Board Agriculture Conference will be from Sept. 21 to 23, the conference invites people with an interest in agriculture concerns to come out. It is being organized to support local ranchers affected by the mad cow crisis.