By Marcus Smith
Tyrone Sitting Eagle helped transform Siksika Media’s magazine, radio and online presence during the seven years he worked with the department, rising from a 2019 summer student to media coordinator before leaving in 2026 to pursue cultural and creative goals.
Sitting Eagle’s Blackfoot name is Iniskim, meaning Buffalo Stone. His interest in media grew from his passion for music and production. He began studying at the University of Lethbridge in 2016 and graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor of Music in digital audio arts.
Before joining Siksika Media full time, Sitting Eagle worked at the Sikoohkotoki Friendship Society in Lethbridge. After graduating, he saw a Siksika Media job posting on Facebook, called the listed number and submitted his resumé. The department hired him soon afterward as a media specialist.
“My main goal was to use my degree in any way that I could,” Sitting Eagle said. “I could apply it to radio and do a lot of fast learning with programs and things like that.”
Siksika Media had a small team when Sitting Eagle started. Marcal Medicine Shield worked at the front desk; Floyd Black Horse served as media coordinator and Doug Winnipeg were the manager. The department brought Sitting Eagle in to eventually take on the radio responsibilities for CFXX 104.7, while he also covered Siksika Nation events and wrote community stories.
The position differed from the career he had imagined while studying audio production, and he described the adjustment as a culture shock. However, the work allowed him to use his education while developing skills in journalism, radio programming, photography, magazine production and social media.
Sitting Eagle moved into leadership during a period of staff changes. After Black Horse and Winnipeg left their positions, he continued gathering stories and advertisements while Jim King helped keep the radio operating. Sitting Eagle also learned to process newspaper invoices and assemble Aitsiniki issues, which were approximately eight to twelve pages at the time.
The responsibilities grew so naturally that Sitting Eagle did not immediately realize he was already completing much of the coordinator’s work. When Lynn Calf Robe joined the department, she asked him to serve as temporary media coordinator. He held the temporary position for about eight months before successfully applying for the permanent role.
Sitting Eagle said expanding Aitsiniki into a 24-page magazine was among his proudest accomplishments. The larger issues allowed the team to share more stories, photographs and information from across Siksika Nation.
“Having it turn into such a big issue, and the amount of work that it took, felt very accomplishing,” Sitting Eagle said.
He also credited Media Specialist, Andrew Breaker for helping expand Siksika Media’s online presence. They studied how audiences responded differently on Facebook and Instagram, then adapted the department’s approach to each platform.
According to Sitting Eagle, Siksika Media recorded approximately 1.2 million in social media reach during the 2024-25 fiscal year and more than three million the following year. He also said CFXX 104.7 reached approximately 48,000 listeners each month.
The department expanded to TikTok and YouTube, building a larger team to cover more events. Sitting Eagle recognized Breaker, Mace Scarlett, Marcus Smith, Lexxington Many Heads and the wider Communications and Media team for contributing to that growth.
“It was a bigger team, more viewers, more readers,” Sitting Eagle said. “The social media was booming, and getting the listenership up for the radio was a huge thing.”
Sitting Eagle said media work rarely fit into a regular workday. Community events, weekend assignments, magazine deadlines and the public visibility of his role often made it feel like a round-the-clock responsibility. Finding time for home life and personal wellness also proved difficult.
He stayed motivated by drawing on the resilience of Blackfoot people and the example set by past generations.
“Whatever hand we’re given in life, we always make it work,” Sitting Eagle said. “That’s how our ancestors were. For myself, I just made it work.”
Sitting Eagle left Siksika Media because he wanted to apply the skills he had learned to his own projects. As a music producer, grass dancer, singer and drummer, he plans to build his social media presence, travel the powwow trail and continue his creative work.
He also became president of the Blackfoot A1 Club, whose members meet and practise regularly, learn songs and travel to sing. He plans to establish an outfit-making business, seek potential grant support and devote more time to making regalia. These goals will allow him to support Blackfoot culture while building an independent career.
“I’m really thankful for Siksika Media because I wouldn’t have learned these skills without it,” Sitting Eagle said. “I wanted to do my own thing and apply these skills to myself.”
Sitting Eagle said he hopes Siksika Media and the Communications department continue to flourish. He advised his former coworkers to accept that mistakes will happen, learn from them and keep moving forward.
“Even if you make mistakes, there are going to be mistakes, just keep it going,” Sitting Eagle said. “I hope the team knows they do have my support. I see everything they’re doing, and it looks really good.”
His influence continues through Siksika Media’s growth today.
