The Blood Tribe just won prairie conservation's top honour — a first

The Blood Tribe Land Management Department has received the 2026 Prairie Conservation Award — the only First Nation ever to win it. Their technicians document grassland health and the species depending on cultural resources through the Kainai skahkoyii Land Initiative, guided by a vision of land as a living entity. "We are leading as a First Nation in prairie conservation," said technician manager Alvin First Rider, "and the work has not gone unnoticed."