Photo via City of Calgary
You probably don’t give much thought to the names of the streets you drive every day, but many of Calgary’s most popular roads have fascinating histories behind their namesakes.
Street naming in Calgary follows a few key principles, but the Calgary Planning Commission Council gets to give the final approval. That’s why, along with numbering, streets are often named for communities, geographical features, and in honour of Indigenous Peoples. Deerfoot Trail is one of the latter.
Api-kai-ees was a Siksika Nation (Blackfoot) man who lived from 1864 to 1897 in Moh’kinstsis (Calgary). He had a reputation for long-distance running and was scouted by an aspiring professional running group in 1884.
Foot races were a popular form of entertainment back then, and Api-kai-ees competed in minor races leading up to his defeat of professional runner James Green in a four-day freestyle endurance race in 1886. From then on, he competed professionally under the name Deerfoot.
Api-kai-ees saw incredible success throughout his career. He won the Dominion Day mile race, and his victory was reported as far as New York. This led to the organization of a major 10-mile race in Calgary, which Api-kai-ees finished in 54 minutes and 30 seconds.
Unfortunately, Api-kai-ees’ story doesn’t have a happy ending. He was caught stealing blankets from a settler’s house near the Blackfoot reserve, but evaded capture for some time. He surrendered and served a sentence of six weeks’ imprisonment. By then, running had declined in popularity, and he never did return to the sport.
Api-kai-ees was in and out of prison for drunkenness and fighting for the remainder of his life. He passed away in 1897 while at the North-West Mounted Police station in Calgary, due to a broken bone.
However, his legacy is not forgotten. Api-kai-ees “Deerfoot” is remembered for his illustrious running career, and his namesake expressway was officially named in 1974.
When you consider how many people speed on Deerfoot Trail, it’s fitting to know that it’s named after a renowned runner.
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