Winter solstice turns Blackfoot thoughts toward the coming warmth of spring

By Lethbridge Herald on December 20, 2025.

Alexandra Noad
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

While the western world may think of the winter solstice as the official start of winter, in Blackfoot culture it’s a sign of warmer days to come.

On Friday, The City of Lethbridge hosted a winter solstice event where participants had the opportunity to learn about the significance of the winter solstice for the Blackfoot people from Elder Mike Bruised Head (Ninna Piiksii.)

Bruised Head explained the Blackfoot people traditionally viewed the year in two parts: the warm months and the cold months, and they would track the passing of time by the 13 moon cycles throughout a year.

The summer and winter solstice were celebrated through ceremonies, with Aokokatsin (Sundance) in the summer to celebrate the sun and animals making it through the winter, and a night-long pipe ceremony during the winter.

Winter is a tough time both physically and mentally, and Bruised Head explains how the Blackfoot people would start praying for spring during the darkest, coldest nights of the year to bring them hope, a practice he continues to implement in his life.

“When winter arrives, we start praying for spring…I am now starting to pray for spring and what that means; me praying for spring helps me get over the hump of the cold days.”

He adds by using your energy to focus on the hope of brighter days, not only helps yourself, but the energy also radiates to those around you, lifting them up as well.

After hearing from Bruised Head, attendees were given the opportunity to have the highlight of their year represented as a symbol on the wintercount displayed at the Cavendish Farms Centre. The pictographs were drawn by William Singer III (Api’soomaahka.)

A wintercount is a piece of hide which contains pictographs which tell the stories of significant events in an outward spiral shape.

Bruised Head explained that while many wintercounts share stories from centuries ago, the attendees were able to share their present year encompassed in one pictograph for generations to come.

The celebrations concluded with a pipe ceremony held at City Hall on Friday evening.