Hitmen team with Siksika Health

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Calgary Hitmen are excited to be partnering with Siksika Health Services, the Blackfoot Confederacy, and the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary to host their fourth annual Every Child Matters hockey game, Feb. 10. 

“There isn’t a day that we don’t share with Siksika Nation and our other seven nations that surround us that we don’t learn, and that is the essence of this relationship, this game, this partnership, and this friendship,” said Mike Moore, Calgary Hitmen vice president. “Daily, we learn, daily we are educated, but more importantly, we – through this game – are enabled to educate as well our fans, the community, the people who do not understand residential schools, do not understand the impact of the past, do not understand the learnings that we get to do every day.”

Moore explained the themes surrounding the game this year are hope, opportunity, pathways, and empowerment. 

He added the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) now boasts multiple teams representing Indigenous education and celebration including through the Flames, Stampeders and Roughnecks.

“We understand and recognize the problems and the challenges. We want to take hope and now find a pathway forward with that hope,” said Moore. “Without the understanding and the partnership and the acknowledgement and acceptance of what we do, it does not happen.”

The partnership between Siksika and the Calgary Hitmen began initially in 2018, as options were being explored as to how collaboration could happen, eventually landing on the Every Child Matters hockey game.

Siksika Health Services CEO, Tyler White described the game and the partnership between Siksika Health Services and the Calgary Hitmen as much more than a business arrangement. 

“It is a friendship, and that goes throughout our friends within the Calgary Hitmen. I am just so honoured, and what we have created over the years, it is very special,” he said. 

“It is the first of its kind in many ways, the memorandum of understanding we signed in 2021 outlined our shared commitment to a number of important goals, including addressing stereotypes and racism, promoting the Blackfoot culture, (and) advocating for healthy lifestyles for all youth through participation in sports.”

White added youth from Siksika Nation and from the Calgary Hitmen will be featured in the leadup to and throughout the Every Child Matters event to showcase their strength and skills. 

As was the case in the previous Every Child Matters game, the Hitmen will be sporting their orange jerseys featuring a host of First Nations art and iconography. 

Dancers and drummers will be featured and performing throughout the game, and attendees will also be invited to a test kitchen, where they will have an opportunity to try traditional First Nations foods.