New Lethbridge program helping preserve Blackfoot language

New initiative promotes Blackfoot language in Lethbridge A new initiative is providing funding to allow Lethbridge institutions to get signage with their names in Blackfoot.

A new program is helping preserve the Blackfoot language, while teaching locals and visitors to southern Alberta about the region's history.

Communities, businesses and institutions from the Lethbridge region are invited to apply for up to $2,000 toward the cost of new Blackfoot sign construction at their location.

The pilot project is a partnership between the Kainai Nation, Southgrow Regional Initiative, Community Futures Lethbridge region and Tourism Lethbridge.

The project aims to bring the Blackfoot names back to life, while teaching the community their history.

"We often forget that we are sitting on top of tens of thousands of years of history," said Southgrow Regional Initiative executive director Peter Casurella. "And that the history of the land that we live on, that's our home.

"It's a lot deeper than just our European history of the past 100-150 years of development. It's a way that we can visibly put that mark on the landscape, inviting people to dive deeper because we have great tourism aspects here in southern Alberta and tourism is a booming industry."

If the program gets funded again in 2024, organizers hope to see it expand to cover all Blackfoot confederacy territory.

To learn more, or to apply, go here.