Partners ● Aohpokohkimmaamaiksi

The Sokkinakia’pi Collaborative Project

The Blood Tribe Department of Health and the University of Lethbridge have partnered to create the Sokkinakia’pi Collaborative Project. The overarching goal of the project is to expand capacity on the Blood Reserve to support access to high quality health care and health services, and to do so by increasing and creating new pathways for educating, training and preparing health professionals within the Blood Tribe community.

Entrenched by a shared commitment, the Blood Tribe Department of Health and the University of Lethbridge partners envision this journey of co-creation to be rooted in shared values of humility, respect, honesty, kindness, collaboration and strength.

The survey will be available for community members soon. Please visit our website or Facebook page for the official launch of the survey.

This study has been approved by the University of Alberta, Health Research Ethics Board Ethics ID: Pro00143898. To learn more about this study, please contact Melissa Shouting (melissa.shouting@uleth.ca).

Take Kainai Health Needs Survey

The purpose and aim of the Sokkinakia’pi Collaborative Project is to build upon the existing Kainai Health Services Plan (2016 – 2025). The survey will help identify and/or reconfirm the health needs and resources for the Blood Tribe over the next 10 – 11 years (2024 – 2035).

The Kainai Health Services Plan sets out a vision of how and where the Tribe will develop its land and community supports/advancements based on data collection methods that will be led by the first all-Kainai research team within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Lethbridge.

The Blackfoot name for the project, Sokkinakia’pi, bestowed upon at a Saapihtsimaani (offering prayers with the pipe ceremony) and naming event held in Standoff on February 6th, 2024, is an “all-encompassing term that includes everything that has do with health,” explains Martin Heavy Head, Elder and Blood Tribe Department of Health Board of Directors Chair. “The word Sokkinaki is the verb ‘to heal or doctor’, and a’pi means ‘all that has to do with’. The full meaning of the word is ‘all that has to do with healing or health’,” says Heavy Head.

Areas of focus of this project will concentrate on:

- Self Determination/Reliance

- Governance

- Capacity Building

- Educational & Training Opportunities

- Research & Innovation

Collaborating in a supportive multi-phased partnership approach funded by the Mastercard Foundation, the Blood Tribe Department of Health and the University of Lethbridge will work towards growth and sustainability as it relates to health service provision on the Blood Tribe Reserve.

The intention of this collaborative approach is to cocreate a translatable model that infuses Siksikaitsitapi cultural notions and strengthens the voice and recommendations by and for community members to enable and align the creation/expansion of providing Federal and Provincial health mandates on the Blood Reserve.

Understanding the health needs of Kainai now and into the future.

The purpose of this study will be to support the Blood Tribe Department of Health in collecting data through by surveying a sample of the distributed population.

The survey will be available for community members soon. Please visit our website or Facebook page for the official launch of the survey.

Participation is voluntary and confidential.

Individuals who submit a completed survey will have their name entered in the monthly draw for a chance to win a $250 gift card.

To learn more about the study, please contact:

Melissa Shouting, B HSc.

Phone: 403-317-2889

Email: melissa.shouting@uleth.ca

Must be over the age of 18 years old, and a registered member of Kainai Nation.

Complete a 20-minute survey
If interested check the box at the end of the survey to receive information about future focus groups sessions related to the project.

It is hoped that the data collected will inform the development of the Kainai Health Services Plan that promotes Kainai health equity and will provide an opportunity for the voices of the nation to be heard during this process.

Partners ● Aohpokohkimmaamaiksi

The Sokkinakia’pi Collaborative Project

Areas of focus of this project will concentrate on:

Understanding the health needs of Kainai now and into the future.

Who can participate?

What Will I be Asked to Do?

What are the potential benefits?