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Our Board
Our board recognizes the urgency of expanding the mapping process and maintaining the Blackfoot culture and language. By promoting and protecting the language and upholding the stories of the land for current and future generations, the legacy of the Iron Shirt Culture and Heritage Society will become a source of Piikani identity and strength.
Mi’kskimmii Soka’ Simmi
(Iron Shirt)
Background
The Iron Shirt Culture and Heritage Society was formerly known as the Long Time Trail Society and had changed its name to Iron Shirt or Mi’kskimmii Soka’Simmi in honor of the Late Allan Pard. His Blackfoot name was Iron Shirt (Mi’kskimmii Soka’Simmi). He was a very prominent and respected spiritual leader of the Piikani people and was a renowned knowledge keeper of spiritual, traditional, cultural, and historical information of the Blackfoot Confederacy. He was an exemplary teacher, advisor, and role model to those who desired to learn the spiritual, traditional, and cultural ways of the Blackfoot.
The Long Time Trail Society came together far back as late 1990s to organize the repatriation of sacred ceremonial items that were held by the Alberta Museums and returned them securely to the Piikani people. This subsequently led to Alberta passing the First Nations Sacred Ceremonial Objects Repatriation Act, 2000 to enable First Nations to retrieve their sacred objects from public collections and archives from museums.
The Late Allan Pard
(Mi’kskimmii Soka’ Simmi – Iron Shirt)
(Mi’kskimmii Soka’ Simmi – Iron Shirt)
Founding Members
The Late Allan Pard (Mi’kskimmii Soka’ Simmi – Iron Shirt)
Allan Pard was a proud Piikanikoan and well-respected Elder of the Piikani Nation. Born and raised in the heart of Piikani territory, Allan was deeply rooted in the traditions and culture of his people. His early life was marked by a strong connection to the land and the teachings of his ancestors.
Allan was renowned for his dedication to preserving and promoting the cultural life of the Piikani Nation. As a Ceremonial Leader, he played a crucial role in maintaining traditional practices and ceremonies for the Piikani people and all of the Blackfoot Confederacy. He was instrumental in Medicine Pipe ceremonies, Aakookatsin and many other sacred societies throughout his life. He was also an integral and one of the founding members of the Piikani Long Time Trail Society, which was responsible for the repatriation of numerous sacred and ceremonial items to the Blackfoot People from Museums and Archives across Canada, the United States and Europe.
He was also a Residential School survivor. Basketball was an early passion for him, and he excelled at it from a young age throughout high school, even becoming one of the first collegiate-level Indigenous Student-Athletes in Alberta as he played for the Lethbridge Kodiaks.
Allan Pard’s legacy is one of cultural preservation and community leadership. His efforts ensured that the rich traditions of the Piikani Nation were passed down to future generations. He is remembered not only for his cultural contributions but also for his kindness, wisdom, sense of humour and commitment to his people and their ways of life.
Jerry Potts
Velma Crow Shoe
John McDougall
Karen Crowshoe
Current Board
Each of our board members are a current or past member of the traditional societies of the Blackfoot and holds and participates in the spiritual, cultural, and traditional ways of the Blackfoot. In addition, each hosts a combined wealth of management/program administrative experience and expertise.
Jerry
Potts
(Chair) Retired with Stats Canada
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Dustin
Wolfe
(Vice-Chair) Health Manager, Aakom-Kiyii Health Services
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Velma
Crow Shoe
(Treasurer) Finance Officer, Piikani Employment Services
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Doane
Crowshoe
Business Development Officer, Piikani Resource Development Ltd.
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Byron
Jackson
Director, Nation Building Advisory Services, Deloitte Canada
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Staff
Our staff are dedicated professionals with deep connections to the Blackfoot culture and community. They’re committed to the spiritual, cultural, and traditional values of the Blackfoot, and their backgrounds and experience support the mission of our organization.
Troy
Crow Shoe
Lead Researcher
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Natasha
Crow Shoe
Admin Assistant
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