BLOOD RESERVE – The message is quite simple, “always buckle up!”
Taylor Crow Eagle is sharing that sentiment with her entire community. The Grade 8 student won the Blood Tribe’s traffic safety poster contest, which will feature her art work on a billboard on the reserve.
“I’m so proud this is going out in my community,” she said.
The idea behind the contest came after Alberta Transportation’s Treaty 7 traffic team conducted a survey and found over 50 per cent of residents on the reserve weren’t buckling up.
“We hear about youth that are thrown from the vehicle because they weren’t wearing a seat belt,” regional traffic safety consultant Tammy White Quills Knife said. “We thought occupant restraint is really good, something to start that messaging, but also connect with the younger kids.”
Crow Eagle’s art piece shows two dogs sitting in a back seat with their seat belts on, with the words ‘always buckle up’ written next to them.
For her, it’s important to not just get adults thinking about the message on her billboard, but also kids.
Grade 2 student Pierce Romero won second prize in the contest. His art also conveys a similar message, showing how critical a seat belt can be.
“If we get into a car accident, we’ll have them on and we’ll be safe,” he said.
There were a total of 19 entries for the contest and four winners were named. This is the first year Treaty 7 and the Blood Tribe held the contest, but because of student engagement, they plan to hold another one next year.
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