We’ve been busy at Firekeeper HQ!
These last few months have been a whirlwind for us here at Firekeeper Alliance. In addition to juggling our family obligations, our work responsibilities, our myriad of creative endeavors, as well as the mountains of killer heavy music released in April (Caustic Wound, Ancient Death, Dormant Ordeal, Inoculation, Wretched Blessing, and Cadaver to name a few!!!!) we’ve been working diligently to further our mission in creating protection and safety from suicidal distress in the Blackfeet Nation.
We’ve got lots of exciting things to announce in the coming weeks, including our role in facilitating the workshop series and wellness experiences at Fire in the Mountains this summer. Stay tuned to learn more about these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities we’ve been working on.
Here’s a quick rundown of some recent Firekeeper highlights:
Our in-house heavy music hero and Vice-Chairman Steve Von Till served as one of the honorable “artists in residence” at the globally recognized Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands this April. Steve collaborated with longtime buddy and incredible artist Thomas Hooper for a powerful exhibit featuring Steve’s music and poetry coupled with Mr. Hooper’s mind bending artistic creations. Steve also performed on multiple stages during the week and left fans completely mesmerized by bringing his Harvestman material (and several new tracks) to life. Steve made sure to tell the international audience all about the critical work we’re doing in Blackfeet country.
Our beloved trustee Colin Sibbernsen recently facilitated a trip with nine BHS students to Washington DC to attend the Native Youth Summit. They were joined by 150 other Native students from across the country for a week of civic learning, leadership, development, and cultural exchange. Colin and his students explored Tribal and federal government relations, collaborated on policy proposals, and had an amazing week interacting with decision makers from all levels of government.
Sienna Speicher, LCPC, recently hosted a Firekeeper Alliance table at the Montana School Counselor Association annual conference in Billings. Sienna networked with hundreds of counselors and clinicians from all over the state and shared in important dialogue about the work we are doing as well as other critical suicide prevention work happening in our region. It’s extremely rewarding to share about our successes and challenges with like minded organizations out there, especially those operating in our Indigenous communities in Montana.
Our collaborative Heavy Music Symposium Class at Browning High School and Buffalo Hide Academy continues to be an incredible experience. Our passion for heavy music and the wellness and coping potential it creates is clearly resonating with our student crew. And speaking of our students, we’ve got some real rippers in class! We’ve had the esteemed pleasure to host many of our heroes as guest speakers during recent meetings, such as:
Steve Von Till of Neurosis
Nate Newton of Converge, Old Man Gloom, Cave In
Kurator of War of Pan Amerikan Native Front
Ivar Bjornson from Enslaved and Bardspec
Amy and John Barrysmith of Year of the Cobra
Shane McCarthy of Wayfarer and Stormkeep
Mike Scheidt from YOB
Aaron Turner of ISIS, Old Man Gloom, and Sumac
Mike Paparo from Inter Arma
Our Chairperson Charlie Speicher hosted another Strengths-based Suicide Assessment and Intervention class for Blackfeet Community College in April. These classes focus on strengths-based counseling principles to depathologize the stigma associated with suicide in Indian Country while increasing client safety and protection from suicidal distress. A special emphasis of this class is placed on long term interventions by offering coping mechanisms and protective factors within our counseling framework. If you or your organization is interested in a Strengths-based class or workshop customized to fit your structural needs, please reach out to us at Info@firekeeperalliance.org!
Speaking of curating the workshop series at FITM ‘25, the Firekeeper Alliance is proud to frame this festival experience through the lens of clinical postvention……which is basically all the grief support (and preventative measures!) that ideally accompanies the losses we experience in our communities. Our hope is that this festival serves as as a gathering place for all those in Indian Country (and wherever we may call home) that have been impacted by suicide. There’s just something that hits different when we receive support from those that have been through what we’ve been through. So, if this issue hits close to home, Fire in the Mountains ‘25 is for you.
We are humbled by the support we’ve received in the form donations, kind words, or people simply bumping into us on the street and expressing belief in what we are doing. It means a lot to us. Keep following along on our social media channels for some exciting announcements, coming soon…
Keep the fire burning🔥
