Indigenous Success Stories: First Nations

NationTalk: Gavin McKenna, star forward of the Medicine Hat Tigers and a junior hockey sensation, has won an award that he says has special meaning to him.

McKenna, 16, was named the winner of the 2024 APTN Bryan Trottier Most Valuable Player Award during a Hockey Night in Canada in Cree broadcast Saturday.

“It’s a super cool feeling, you know, being indigenous and getting that recognition,” McKenna said in a statement released Monday.

“I’m super proud of who I am and my background,” he added.

“It’s an award that is pretty big, and it’s something that you don’t just get because of your hockey talent, it’s also stuff within the community. When I go home, I try and help my community as much as I can.”

McKenna, a member of Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, is the first junior hockey player to earn the award.

Gavin McKenna won the 2024 APTN Bryan Trottier Most Valuable Player Award. (Courtesy: Medicine Hat Tigers)

The Tigers star is coming off a sensational season that saw him finish his rookie campaign with 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points in 61 games.

When McKenna isn’t on the ice, he says he feels most at home connecting with nature in his hometown of Whitehorse, Yukon, according to a Tigers’ news release.

“Being out in nature and stuff, you know, I hunt and fish,” McKenna added. 

“It’s all the traditions that the Indigenous peoples have and, you know, being a part of that was super cool growing up.”

by Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

Team from Manitoba competed in tournaments internationally

APTN News: The Sagkeeng Oldtimers hockey team was inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame (NAIAHF) at a banquet in Green Bay, Wis., last weekend.

The team, made up of players ranging in age from 35 to over 50, was based in Sagkeeng First Nation, about 100 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. It was active for over two decades, playing tournaments through the Canadian Oldtimers Hockey Association in the U.S., Europe and Canada.

NAIAHF says the team qualified for the induction because they won the national cup in 1987. 

Ken Young, who is from Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Manitoba but has been in Sagkeeng “for forever,” played with the team for 20 years. He attended the banquet in Green Bay and said it was fun.

“The joking around and the teasing was back, like the way it was,” he said.

Sagkeeng Oldtimers inducted into North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame

WATCH | Sagkeeng Oldtimers enter the hall of fame:

9 hours ago, Duration 2:11

A hockey team made up mostly of residential school survivors was inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame at a banquet in Green Bay, Wis., last weekend.

Click on the following link for view the video:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/sagkeeng-oldtimers-indigenous-hall-fame-1.7148692

He said hockey helped him heal and cope with the hard times in life. 

“You can’t live life being bitter like a lot of us were after we left Indian residential school,” he said.

Young said being on the team taught him to get along with people all over the world and to always be respectful regardless of the situation. 

“There were some hockey teams that we played against that were not very friendly to our people,” said Young.

“But the teams that I remember that we beat … that was very satisfying.”

Phil Fontaine played on the team for about 15 years. He said it was a privilege to represent his home, Sagkeeng First Nation, in a positive way.

He said unlike professional players who get paid, they all played for the love of the game. 

• Team made up of residential school survivors recognized by Hockey Hall of Fame

“We came across others that enjoy playing hockey as much as we did so we had a lot of games that were really quite competitive,” he said.

“We played the Finns, we played the Swedes, we played Norwegians, so the experience was pretty wide and varied.”

Walter and Verna Fontaine founded the team. Their daughter, Darlene Ahmo, said the couple’s dedication and leadership brought out the best from their community.

“They just kept working really hard. That’s what I remember about both of them,” she said.

Darlene’s son Josh Redbear-Ahmo said it wasn’t until he got older that he realized his grandparents were doing something special. When they weren’t travelling the world, he remembers the Oldtimers teaching youth hockey camps. 

Redbear- Ahmo said it’s been an honour to see the continuing impact of their work. 

“My respect and my feelings for them just grows daily,” he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Janell Henry

Janell Henry is a proud member of the Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation. Before coming to CBC in September 2022, she worked in the arts sector at Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art Gallery. She studied writing at University of Winnipeg and audio in media at the Mid-Ocean School of Media Arts. You can reach her at janell.henry@cbc.ca.

Kenneth Moore inducted into North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame

CBC News: Jennifer Rattray says she was proud to see her grandfather recognized posthumously for his achievements as one of Canada’s first Indigenous Olympic gold medallists.

Rattray’s grandfather, Kenneth Moore, was inducted to the North American Indigenous Athletic Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Wisconsin on Saturday, she says.

“I spent the whole day, of course, thinking about my grandfather [and] everything that he … and our family endured: the loss of his two older brothers at residential school and the really challenging life that he had,” Rattray, who serves on CBC/Radio-Canada’s board of directors but is currently on leave, said Saturday.

“The other side of that [are] the incredible gifts he was given and the incredible athlete he was, and he was an academic and … because of his athletic ability, he was able to go to university, which was almost unheard of in the 1920s.”

A member of Peepeekisis First Nation in Saskatchewan, Moore was born in 1910 and grew up in Regina as a natural athlete who spent countless hours at the local rink.

Moore also played rugby and lacrosse, but he was most passionate about hockey. He played senior men’s hockey in Winnipeg before competing in the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.

It was there that Moore, a right winger, and his team won the Olympic gold medal. Rattray believes her grandfather is Canada’s first First Nations Olympic gold medallist.

“He was a very humble man during his lifetime and wasn’t ever really celebrated for that accomplishment,” Rattray said.

Moore gave back after retiring from sports and became a coach, she said. He died in Winnipeg in 1981, following a long illness.

“He coached three teams to provincial championships, and he was just such a wonderful human being, and so for him to be recognized in this way — as part of the class of 2024 — was just beyond thrilling.”

Time to ‘celebrate everybody’

The North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame is three years old and inducts about 100 athletes a year — including those still active in their careers.

“Today, Moore’s achievements would be exceptional. A century ago, his achievements are extraordinary. He represents excellence and what can happen when talent and heart triumph over poverty and prejudice,” the hall of fame said on its website.

Rattray says her grandfather would have been honoured and humbled to have his achievements recognized by the hall of fame.

“It was just an absolutely incredible day,” she said.

“There were in 450 people in this beautiful banquet hall, and there were other amazing inductees and families, and there was just so much love and gratitude in the room.”

• Canada’s 1st indigenous Olympic gold medallist not recognized, family says
• Lacrosse all-star Gaylord Powless inducted into North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame

The Sakgeeng Oldtimers Hockey Club was also inducted into the hall of fame this year. Based in Sagkeeng First Nation, which about 100 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, the team drew Anishinaabe and Cree hockey players from throughout Manitoba.

The team, which included former Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Phil Fontaine, was previously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

“Being here from Manitoba, and my grandfather winning the Olympic gold medal — playing on the Winnipeg hockey team, and then seeing just a few tables over this amazing group of 22 from Sagkeeng was really a ‘Manitoba pride’ moment as well,” Rattray said.

She says her grandfather’s induction into the hall of fame signals that there are more unsung sports heroes from Canada’s Indigenous communities that need to be recognized.

“I think it’s time to look a little deeper and really look at Canada’s true history and … celebrate everybody.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ozten Shebahkeget, Reporter

Özten Shebahkeget is Anishinaabe/Turkish Cypriot and a member of Northwest Angle 33 First Nation who grew up in Winnipeg’s North End. She joined CBC Manitoba in 2021 through the inaugural Pathways program. She is also a recent graduate of the University of Saskatchewan’s master of fine arts in writing program.

• Email: ozten.shebahkeget@cbc.ca

With files from Gavin Axelrod

Six Nations lacrosse star died in 2001

CBC Indigenous: Gaylene Powless knew her dad Gaylord Powless was pretty good at lacrosse and he coached here and there, but she realized he was an all-star when one day, he pulled out his status card at a checkout line and incited a small frenzy.

She was just eight that day — the youngest of his three children and his namesake — but she still recalls her father taking his hat off, signing it and handing it to a fan.

In March, the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) lacrosse player from Six Nations of the Grand River and other prominent Indigenous athletes will be inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame.

“It’s a pretty proud moment. [I’m] pretty honoured and and humbled that people are still recognizing him even though he’s been gone since 2001,” Gaylene said.  “Kids now wouldn’t know to idolize him or know him, but their parents would and their grandparents would.”

Gaylord, born in 1946, won the Tom Longboat Award at 17 as the best Indigenous athlete in Canada. A few years later he was recruited by the Oshawa Green Gaels, a junior men’s box lacrosse team in Oshawa, Ont., and was MVP in 1964 and again in 1967.

He began playing professionally for the Rochester Chiefs in New York state. In 1968 Gaylord was a star player for the Detroit Olympics of the National Lacrosse Association, scoring 63 goals in the season, nearly double that of the next highest scoring player. Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame noted that stat when it inducted Gaylord into its ranks in 2017.

Backhand signature move

Gaylord’s cousin and fellow lacrosse player, Delby Powless Sr., said Gaylord didn’t start playing minor lacrosse until he was 18 when was recruited to Oshawa, because they didn’t have that calibre of team in Six Nations at the time.

As a trailblazer for up-and-coming lacrosse players in his community, Delby said Gaylord dealt with racism in the game. “He took a lot of abuse and he put up with it because he wanted to play,” Delby said. He said Gaylord never let that hold him back and that he looked up to him because of it. 

Delby said he saw Gaylord outside his home once “taking backhands” — one of Gaylord’s signature moves, where a player shoots over their shoulder without looking, so their opponent is unaware of the ball’s intended direction.

“He shot 10 times at the hole in the top corner of the board that he had there, set up on the net, and he put eight out of 10 in there on the backhand,” Delby said. 

Delby said he started working on his own backhands right away; eventually they became a huge part of his game. 

Delby said Gaylord’s incredible peripheral vision made it seem like he knew where opponents were at all times. “He could see things that were almost behind him,” said his cousin.

Delby said Gaylord wore braces on his knees, not because he needed them, but because players would come after him and try to take him out but would draw penalties instead.

It wasn’t until Six Nations built its lacrosse arena and started winning more championships “that our guys got exposure and were able to go on and play in the [National Lacrosse League],” said Delby.

Gaylene said a week or two before her father died of cancer in 2001 at 54, he learned the arena in Six Nations would be named for him. “My dad just gave the thumbs up,” she said.

Ceremony in March

The North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame is three years old and inducts about 100 athletes a year — including those still active in their careers.  Gaylord Powless joins his father Ross as an inductee.

• Haudenosaunee Nationals a step closer to being in the Olympics with inclusion of lacrosse

“They have both been instrumental with getting the modern lacrosse game going in their respective communities and extending it into professional ranks,” said Dan Ninham, who is Oneida, Wolf Clan and co-director of the hall of fame.

Other athletes being inducted this year are lacrosse players Alfie Jacques, Claudia Jimerson and Brett Bucktooth and hockey players Ted, Jordan and Brandon Nolan.

The ceremony honouring this year’s inductees will be in Green Bay, Wis., in March. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Candace Maracle, Reporter

Candace Maracle is Wolf Clan from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University. She is a laureate of The Hnatyshyn Foundation REVEAL Indigenous Art Award. Her latest film, a micro short, Lyed Corn with Ash (Wa’kenenhstóhare’) is completely in the Kanien’kéha language.

NationTalk: Winnipeg – The Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council (MASRC) congratulates Justina di Stasio, a proud member of the Norway House Cree Nation, for earning her spot in the 2024 Olympics for wrestling. Justina’s hard work and talent make her a source of inspiration for Indigenous athletes across Manitoba.

As an organization dedicated to supporting Indigenous sports, MASRC is excited about Justina’s journey to the Olympics. Her success is a point of pride for Indigenous communities, showcasing the determination and resilience that MASRC encourages in its athletes.

Mel Whitesell, Executive Director of MASRC, shared her enthusiasm, saying, “Justina di Stasio’s Olympic qualification is a significant moment for Indigenous sports in Manitoba. She not only represents Norway House Cree Nation but also inspires athletes across our country. Justina’s journey embodies the spirit of our athletes, and we’re proud to stand behind her as she competes on the world stage.”

MASRC recognizes the impact Justina’s achievement has on breaking barriers for future Indigenous athletes. Her journey serves as a powerful example for youth, illustrating that with dedication, they can reach their dreams.

As Justina prepares for the Olympics, MASRC offers unwavering support and eagerly anticipates celebrating her accomplishments in 2024. The MASRC is confident that Justina’s success will motivate a new generation of Indigenous athletes in Manitoba and beyond.

The Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council extends warm congratulations to Justina di Stasio and wishes her continued success as she represents her community and province at the 2024 Olympics.

To view Justina’s Olympic profile, please click here.

Washipabano had an easy laugh, a quick handshake and hockey in his blood

CBC Indigenous: Hockey sticks are being left outside, flags are at half mast and a tribute flashed Tuesday on the jumbo screen at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The tributes are pouring in this week for Charly Washipabano, an iconic figure in the Cree Nation hockey world. 

Washipabano died Sunday after a health emergency driving home from a hockey tournament in the Montreal area, his family says. He was 41. His death has left a profound sense of sadness, loss and solidarity across Cree communities in northern Quebec.

“I did not realize how many lives he affected in a positive way,” said Mark Wadden, Washipabano’s cousin and deputy chief of Washipabano’s hometown Chisasibi, Que. “There’s a lot of well wishes and condolences pouring in from the whole Cree Nation. We had a candlelight vigil [Tuesday] at the arena. I couldn’t find parking.”

Across Cree communities, people are leaving hockey sticks outside their front doors, youth are gathering outside arenas, raising hockey sticks in the air and the Cree Nation Government has asked that flags across the nation be at half mast until Washipabano’s funeral. There aren’t yet details on when that will be.

The outpouring of love is really helping the family in their grief, said Wadden. “It’s bringing people together … It’s bringing the whole Cree Nation together. It really helps a lot,” he said.

Washipabano was a former elite hockey player, playing for midget AAA for Forestiers d’Amos in the late 1990s, according to a tribute by Hockey Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

In more recent years, Washipabano played a central role in the development of hockey across Cree communities in northern Quebec, including helping to develop the Cree Nation Bears hockey program. 

He also worked as a coach, a trainer of coaches, and as program coordinator for the Eeyou Istchee Sports and Recreation Association (EISRA), the organization that governs sports and recreation throughout the Cree Nation. “He was there for the youth,” said Raymond Shanoush, chief of the Cree Nation of Eastmain. 

Shanoush is also a longtime president of the EISRA and a former broadcaster. He first interviewed Washipabano as a young hockey hopeful and said he had an easy laugh, lit up every room he was in and had a way of connecting with everyone. “He was always present, you know, in every boardroom … in every tournament office, every dressing room. And he was always the type of guy that welcomed everybody, shook hands with everybody,” said Shanoush. 

In July 2022, Washipabano was invited as a coach, along with Cree hockey hopeful Israel Mianscum, to join the Montreal Canadiens 2022 development camp. 

• Cree hockey hopeful living a childhood dream with Habs invite

On Tuesday, the team paid tribute to Washipabano on social media and on the jumbo screen scoreboard during a home game at the Bell Centre. 

The idea for the Habs tribute started with Daniel Mark-Stewart, deputy chief of Eastmain. He called the club and then enlisted the help of Abel Bosum, former Cree Grand Chief, who reached out to Serge Savard, former Canadiens player and general manager. 

The staff at the Bell Centre boutique also put a rush to get Mark-Stewart a jersey with Washipabano’s name and his number 97 from his days playing with the Chisasibi Hunters. “[There were] some emotions for me, you know, like because Charly was a friend and I felt proud to be from Eeyou Istchee. I felt proud to be a Montreal Canadiens fan. I was overjoyed,” said Mark-Stewart, adding he plans to give the jersey to Washipabano’s parents.

“It was a very proud night for the Cree Nation … even under these circumstances of losing someone that we cared about. It was a nice way to celebrate Charly’s life,” said Mark-Stewart. 

Washipabano’s son Zane played with the Cree Nation Bears hockey team and this season is with the Forestiers U15 AAA. One of Washipabano’s last posts to social media was a video of his son scoring a hat-trick in a tournament in Mascouche Sunday morning. 

A special tribute is also being planned for the Big River Cup tournament in Chisasibi that starts this Friday. 

The CBC North Cree unit is also planning a special tribute phone-in show on Friday’s Eyou Dipajimoon, hosted by Cheryl Wapachee. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan Bell, Cheryl Wapachee ·

Susan Bell has worked with CBC News since 1997 as a journalist, writer-broadcaster, radio host and producer. She has been with CBC North since 2009, most recently as a digital producer with the Cree unit in Montreal.

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• Cree hockey hopeful living a childhood dream with Habs invite
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Windspeaker.com: Tyndall Fontaine and Savanna Smith are this year’s male and female recipient of the National Indigenous Coaching Awards.

Savanna Smith is proud of the fact she has won a National Indigenous Coaching Award. Smith, who has Blackfoot ancestry and lives in Surrey, B.C., is this year’s female recipient of the award.

She also likes the fact the 2023 male recipient, Tyndall Fontaine, a member of Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba, is, like herself, a lacrosse coach. “It was really cool that two people who are lacrosse coaches ended up getting this award,” said Smith, who is involved in numerous initiatives in her home province.

Winners of the National Indigenous Coaching Award are annually selected by reps from the Aboriginal Sport Circle (ASC), the governing body of Indigenous athletics in Canada.

Both Smith and Fontaine were presented with their awards during a ceremony Nov. 3 in Calgary. That event was part of the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Awards Gala, hosted by the Coaching Association of Canada.

“It is an honour for the Aboriginal Sport Circle to be celebrating the accomplishments and impacts these two coaches have made for Indigenous youth in the field of play and within their communities,” said ASC president Rob Newman.

“Tyndall and Savanna are leaders within the Indigenous sport community and are creating positive opportunities for Indigenous youth across the country.”

Despite her numerous contributions to lacrosse in her home province, Smith was not anticipating any national recognition. “It has been a little overwhelming,” she said. “I’m not a limelight kind of person.”

Smith served as the head coach of the B.C. girls’ under-19 club that won the gold medal at this year’s North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). Those Games, held this past July, were primarily run in Halifax. Smith had also guided the B.C. girls’ under-19 entry to a podium finish at the 2017 NAIG staged in Toronto and surrounding communities. Smith’s team placed third at that event.

In between these two NAIG competitions, Smith had served as the team manager for the Haudenosaunee girls’ entry that took part in the 2019 world girls’ under-19 championships held in Peterborough, Ont.

Smith, who is 33, is eager to continue passing on her knowledge of the sport. “I want to concentrate on the amount of Indigenous youth we have playing in B.C., both on the girls’ and boys’ teams,” she said.

To this end she is a coach with Fusion West Lacrosse. This organization provides training for those in Grade 3 through Grade 12 and who live on B.C.’s Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland or Thompson Okanagan regions. Fusion West Lacrosse fields numerous teams that also travel to various tournaments in the United States.

Smith helps coach those who are members of the eight Fusion West Lacrosse girls’ teams. Smith has also been an instrumental figure in the B.C.-based women’s West Division of the Arena Lacrosse League (ALL). This circuit, which features six teams, is gearing up for its third season of play.

Smith is one of the founders of the circuit. And she’s also one of the reasons all of the clubs in the league have names from animals taken from the story of The Great Ball Game—Bear, Turtle, Hawk, Bat, Deer and Flying Squirrel.

According to the Haudenosaunee story, The Great Ball Game tells how the first game of lacrosse was played by winged creatures versus four-legged animals. The lesson from this story is that everyone has a contribution to make since the creatures all possessed their own qualities.

Smith has held numerous roles with the ALL during its first two seasons of operations. For the first time she will also play in the league this coming season, which will commence next month.

By Sam Laskaris
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Windspeaker.com

Windspeaker is owned and operated by the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta, an independent, not-for-profit communications organization. Each year, Windspeaker.com publishes hundreds of free articles focused on Indigenous peoples, their issues and concerns, and the work they are undertaking to build a better future.

If you support objective, mature and balanced coverage of news relevant to Indigenous peoples, please consider supporting our work. Whatever the amount, it helps keep us going.

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‘There was the hard-ass, raised on the rez thing, and there was skateboarding, which was like family’

CBC News: My reserve, Maskwacis, is 15 km from Wetaskiwin, which is a neighbouring town. All the older guys would skate to town. I was so young that I couldn’t stand on the board yet, but I’m knee boarding right behind them. I remember getting picked up by someone and they said: “Whaaaat are you doing?” They ended up bringing me to my mom.  “Marilyn, your kid is knee boarding to town again.”  And so eventually I was like, I’ve got to stand up on this thing because this is what the other guys are doing. I very much was an impressionable kid growing up. I just wanted to be accepted by the older guys.

The first time I saw asphalt on the rez, I was like WHOOAH! In front of the new bingo hall, they made a little parking area, which to us was just like a playground. We were trying to ollie up the curb; it was a big deal.

They ended up hiring security for us on the reserve. My late uncle from Johnson Security, he thought we were little terrors. There were actual bad things going on the reserve, but we were the easy target. We just wanted a place to skateboard.

So eventually, my mom said “Son, go and get a petition going.” I had no idea what a petition was. I would go to the hockey rink, to the grocery store, the corner store. I ended up getting close to 700 names of people who were backing this idea to get a skateboard park. I approached the head of parks and recreation and said, “If you don’t want us skating here, then build us something.”  Back then I was a little political activist. I was advocating for something. And it was partly because of my mom who said “This is how you get stuff done”.

photo: Maggie Macpherson 

Whenever one of our little skate posse of kids had a birthday party, we all jumped in the van and hit Century Skate Park in Edmonton. My reserve approached the people who built Century. They came and before you knew it they built a 10-foot vert ramp with a six-foot half pipe, and a four-footer beside it. I could see from my house where the ramps were being built. So I literally just showed up and I’m the annoying little kid, watching them do everything.

I said, “I’m the reason why you guys came, basically.” And they were so cool. I formed a friendship with all those other guys. They had a backyard bowl in Edmonton. They had a skate scene, which back then was amazing. I felt accepted by these older people. That’s just how skateboarding was back then.

There was the hardass, being raised on the rez type of thing. And then there was this layer of just skateboarding, which was like a family. I carry that to this day. What they taught me, I’m paying that forward.

Our non-profit, Nations Skate Youth, it’s crazy how full circle it’s come.

The kids, the majority of them, what we are doing is just being ourselves and creating a space for them to eventually be themselves too.

By our actions and by our story and by being just our truest selves, we shed layers with some of the youth that normally a parent or guardian or a foster parent wouldn’t be able to.

Once we break down this little wall that they’ve built, then we get to figure out what really makes them tick. We get certain actions, like they’re smiling, they’re overjoyed. They are all these things. Their parents are going, “Wow. I’ve never seen them actually do this before.”

It applies to anything that you present to the youth – it could be hockey, it could be ballet. Skateboarding is one avenue and it’s such a rich culture. You may not be the best at it when you first start, but there are so many positive avenues. You could film it, make the edits, you could make the clothing, you could build the ramps. The actual culture of skateboarding has saved so many people just like myself. And so I like to spread that message.

And there is no discrimination. There’s no rulebook. There are no teammates. And there is no other skateboarder out there who skates exactly like that youth.

photo: Ty James 

We like to show them that it’s very much inclusive. I didn’t have that growing up. I had to put it down, pick it up. I treated my skateboard like a boomerang. When I didn’t like it and life wasn’t going my way, I’d throw that thing as far away as I could. I’d be like, “Oh, I used to skate.” And about a year later I would pick up a board again. It was like the boomerang. It would come back to me just as I threw it. A lot of people growing up throw that away and it never comes back to them. I’m very, very fortunate to be able to have it still in my life and be able to do the work that I’m doing.

I almost walked away from my non-profit. I was just taking on too much. I was seriously looking at a crack toke and I was thinking about ways of justifying a slip. That’s just me, catching the trigger and knowing that I need to resource myself. I didn’t realize that I was actually chipping away at what I had built for myself. So, yeah, I came close there a couple of times.https://player.vimeo.com/video/757444197 

Dad was very much raised the old way. He tried to limit my skateboard time but I was ahead of him. I used to put my actual skateboard where the bus would pick us up in the morning. So I would leave the house and I would have my old beater board and he’d be like, “Hey, what are you doing with that?” He would totally call me on it. I was in town school then. So there was a skate scene there.  Back in the Eighties, even when I didn’t own a skateboard, I was drawn to it because it was such a hardcore culture in my eyes.

My dad groomed me to become a hockey player. So, you know, cod liver oil first thing in the morning. He was training me. He had a boxing gym in the basement. He was training me because he missed the boat.

I wanted to become an NHL hockey player. I was brainwashed to think that all the scouts go to residential school and that’s where you come up.  So I’m like, “Whose ass do I have to kick? Where do I have to go? What do I have to do in order to get there?”

I remember looking at three brochures for three separate residential schools, and I only wanted to know who was the  winningest. I don’t care who was whatever…but who’s the best? It just so happened at the time to be the Lebret Eagles. And so I’m like, “I’m an Eagle!”  I was so driven, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

photo: Joel Dufresne

I ended up going to the residential school and quickly realized that there was about a thousand other kids just like me. Bigger, stronger, faster. But my skateboard? I had it with me the entire time in residential school. Because I was considered somewhat of an elite athlete for the school, they allowed it.

I needed a lock just for my skateboard. They could steal my hockey equipment because I could get that replaced, but my skateboard? I had to put it in a separate locker to protect it because everybody wanted to take it.

There were no ramps. We’d jam a 4×8 piece of plywood up against the wall and there’s our ramp. We were just trying. We were just skating. Whatever. You’re a child, basically.

I would run away from the school. They called it AWOLing. I was so good at it, no one was going to catch me. And in the prairie, you could see them coming for miles. Regina was the closest city to where I was in Lebret. It was the Qu’apelle Valley. I remember having my skateboard and getting to Regina and seeing another skateboarder who was not Indigenous. I was constantly looking out for a white van or the police because they’re looking for AWOL kids.

So I remember running up and meeting this skateboarder who was a lot older than me. I started crying and I was just like, “Dude, You gotta hide me!” The guy had a truck. He was a farm kid. So we jump in his truck and I end up just crying and laying low. And this guy ends up taking me to his farm and he’s got a mini ramp in his garage and he’s got this scene and he’s drinking beer, smoking and I thought, this is amazing. Your dad let you do this?

Anytime I would take off from that school, every time I got caught, whoever was in charge of being on the lookout for us had to clean up the mess we made. So I was never having to take any accountability because they wanted me on that ice, you know? I didn’t attend any classes. You had to have a 60 per cent-plus grade average in order to step foot on that rink, so teachers were giving me my grades in order for me to play.

And this is supposed to prepare me for the future?

When you’re in these systems, you’re growing up in a kids jail, basically. You’re not coming out of there ready to live. If anything, it gave me extra street smarts. They taught me how to take a punch and throw a punch. How to stick up for myself.

It’s something a child shouldn’t have to go through. You’re just trying to be a kid, you know?

There were moments later where, sure, I was sponsored, I was getting free gear, but I wasn’t holding up my end of the bargain. I wasn’t documenting my skill or what I was capable of doing. That’s just something that I had to shake off. It takes a while to be able to accept who you are, that you’re being given all this support for something that you’re good at, you know?https://www.youtube.com/embed/ilwzXXvE8og?autoplay=0&loop=0&showinfo=0&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&modestbranding=0&start=0&fs=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent&rel=1 

Eventually reality hits. Until then I made a mess anywhere I went. If I had a promise to appear, I’m out! If I got arrested, I skipped town. You can only do that for so long. I ended up making a big mess, that I had to show up for. It just led to a life of crime and throw in some addiction and some unresolved childhood trauma in there, and abandonment issues, you name it.

My dad got it pretty bad in residential school. His abuse and violence was just something that … I didn’t know any better. I’m still working on it. This is a forever thing. I’m still an addict. I think heroin’s great. I just can’t do it anymore. I can’t function under alcohol anymore. I had to grow out of that way of life. I wasn’t going anywhere. I was very blessed to have guardian angels, my guides and ancestors being there for me when the moments of,you know, those moments.

photo: TJ Rak

Chief Poundmaker, he is the reason. He’s sitting here beside me. Every day I speak with him, I speak directly to the Creator and I smudge and I ask for guidance. The closer I get in my relationship with the Creator, having all my ancestors beside me, it’s like rubbing a genie’s lamp and asking for wishes. As long as you’re putting in that work and you’re being 100 per cent true with your ancestors, that stuff comes true.

If you dig deep enough, they listen. The Creator listens. You’ve got your great, great great whoever behind you right now. Beside you. Backing you. Backing up the work you’re doing and making sure that you’re 100.  Sometimes you got to ask for a little advice here and there. Show me a sign or whatever it is. For me, it’s just being in constant contact with my ancestors.

Poundmaker, he very much is speaking. I’m like a middle man with the work I’m doing now. I used to hesitate and question everything. I don’t fight that feeling anymore. So that’s just coming directly through my ancestors. Having Poundmaker as an ancestor is a blessing.

By Joe Buffalo for CBC Sports.  

Top, large image photo credit: Maggie Macpherson 

Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council’s award aim to inspire future generations

CBC News: When high school basketball player Abby Sweeny isn’t on the court with her coach and team, she’s at home practicing with her dad in their garage or basement. 

Sweeny’s determination, along with her competitiveness and connection to community, earned her an Indigenous athlete of the year award from the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council. “It feels good to be recognized,” Sweeny said. “I just want to say thank you to all the people who nominated me.”

Every year the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council recognizes local athletes, coaches and volunteers with a series of six awards: two for Indigenous athlete of the year, two for Indigenous coach of the year and two for Indigenous volunteer of the year.

Sweeny and the other winners will be officially presented with their awards Wednesday evening on a stage in front of a room full of dignitaries at the gateway to the arctic venue at the Assiniboine Park Zoo. Sweeny, who is from Pimicikamak Cree Nation (also known as Cross Lake), didn’t even know she was nominated for the award until she won. 

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“I came home one day and my family, they were all looking, standing in the living room like … looking at me.” Sweeny said.  Her little brother was standing there with a balloon in his hand, next to a bouquet of flowers and a chocolate cake that said “Congratulations.”  “And I was like, what’s going on?” Sweeny said.

Her parents told her to read the letter that said she had won the award, and she could hardly believe it. She first got into the sport six years ago when she moved to Winnipeg, and one of her best friends in middle school encouraged her to play. Sweeny, now in Grade 11, says her family are her biggest supporters and she credits her high level of competition to being the middle child in a household with four brothers.

Sweeny ‘leads by example’: coach 

This is Eric Sung’s third year coaching the student athlete. He was among those who nominated her for the award.  Sung coaches Sweeny with the Dakota Lancers, who just won the provincial AAAA basketball championships for the second time – both of the two years Sweeny was on the team. Outside school, Sung coaches Sweeny through the Evolve Basketball Club, and Sweeny herself is a coach on both teams as well.

“One of her strengths that she’s naturally really good at is kind of scoring around the hoop,” Sung said.  “She’s really dynamic around the rim and has different ways to get around people to score.” 

He said when the team found out about Sweeny’s award, they were extremely excited.  “She’s someone that always kind of deflects and says it wasn’t because of her… it was because of the group that gave her this opportunity to get this award.” he said.  “So we’re all excited for her and honoured that she got the award.”

‘You can’t be what you can’t see’

Carriera Lamoureux, the director of special projects at MASRC, is in charge of the nomination process for all six awards. “We respond directly to TRC’s 87th call to action. So these awards are a direct result of educating the public,” said Lamoureux. “We’re just looking to highlight and to honour stories of excellence.”

This year, they received the most nominations they ever had with 30 in total for all categories, with the athlete of the year category racking up half of the votes.  Lamoureux said giving these awards out is important for inspiring future generations. The Indigenous athlete of the year award is given to an athlete who is not only well-rounded in sports but also who gives back to the community. 

Sweeny was picked because of her dedication to her sport, coaching middle school classes and for being connected to her culture.  “Anyone who knows her would know that she is a good basketball player, but she also helps out in her community,” Lamoureux said.

In the future, Sweeny wants to see where basketball will take her. She says she’d like to get back home to Pimicikamak Cree Nation at some point to offer coaching to the youth there.  “There’s a lot of talent up there that doesn’t get recognized enough,” she said. “But that’s definitely one of my goals, just to go back home and help out the way that I can.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Janell Henry, Janell Henry is a proud member of the Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation. Before coming to CBC in September 2022, she worked in the arts sector at Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art Gallery. She studied writing at University of Winnipeg and audio in media at the Mid-Ocean School of Media Arts. You can reach her at janell.henry@cbc.ca.

Lorne Julien couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have his artwork viewed by millions of people

APTN News: The World Junior Hockey Championship had some First Nations flair thanks to four artists from the Maritimes who were selected to paint hockey sticks for the event.

The opportunity to have his artwork viewed by millions of people was something Mi’kmaq artist Lorne Julien couldn’t pass up.

“It’s exciting. It’s an honor,” he said. “It’s a special time to just be part of this.”

The member of Milbrook First Nation in Nova Scotia was chosen to design a one-of-a-kind hockey stick along with New Brunswick artists Emma Hassencahl-Perley, Robin Jipjaweg Paul and Natalie Sappier (Samaqani Cocahq).

This year’s annual international tournament for under-20 hockey teams was held in Halifax and Moncton. It wrapped up Thursday night with Canada winning the gold medal game against Czechia 3-2.

Hockey Canada and Mawi’Art: Wabanaki Artist Collective partnered to find artists from the host provinces as a way to showcase local Indigenous talent. Hockey sticks are customarily presented at the end of every game when one player from each team is named player of the game.

Each artist was tasked with creating 20 sticks. Julien put about 100 hours of work into painting his design, a double-curve motif with an eagle in flight.

He said the eagle is representative of love and protection, which are principles of the Seven Sacred Teachings.

His design also featured an orange heart in honor of the suspected unmarked graves at former residential schools. “I think that’s important that that’s remembered,” he said, “and I think it gives the general public a better understanding as well.”

All four artists were chosen for several reasons including their connection to hockey.

For Julien it was his great-grandfather Joseph Julien, a former chief of Milbrook, who carved hockey sticks known as “Mic-Mac” sticks.

“I know there was a big order that (former national department store) Eaton’s had had at one time, and it was 12,000 hockey sticks,” Julien recalled.

Author(s) 

Sara Connorssconnors@aptn.ca

NationTalk: OTTAWA – Commonwealth Sport Canada (CSC) is proud to announce this year’s recipients of the Canadian Commonwealth Sport Awards. The awards for Sport Excellence go to Justina Di Stasio (athlete) and Ryan Mallette (coach). Both awards are a recognition and celebration of the individual’s outstanding contribution to Team Canada at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

The Sport Excellence Athlete Award celebrates outstanding athletic performance of individual athletes, an entire team, or an individual athlete within a team sport if their contributions are exemplary and warrant special recognition. The 2022 winner of the Athlete Award is Justina Di Stasio. Di Stasio was the 2022 Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist in Women’s 76kg Wrestling and a multi-time continental champion. Di Stasio also a medalist at the 215 and 2019 Pan-American Games. Di Stasio is now turning her attention to her goal of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“While Di Stasio is a leader on the mat she is also one off,” says Darren Matte Manager, Marketing and Communications at Wrestling Canada Lutte. “She is well respected by her teammates and coaches and is always willing to help them in their training. She recently earned her teaching degree and has begun working as a substitute teacher in the Coquitlam School District. In addition, she is an assistant coach with Simon Fraser University’s Women’s Varsity Wrestling Team.”

Di Stasio is proud of her indigenous heritage and this year is set to receive a pair of awards: the Tom Longboat Award – which recognizes Aboriginal athletes for their outstanding contributions to sport in Canada; as well as a Premier’s Award for Indigenous Youth Excellence in Sport – which celebrates the outstanding achievements of Indigenous youth athletes throughout the province of B.C. Justina is a leader on and off the matt and beacon of the Commonwealth movement.

For further information on the Canadian Commonwealth Sport Awards, their categories and previous award recipients:https://commonwealthsport.ca.

The 2021 Canada Games Host Society – is excited to announce the historic signing of a memorandum of understanding with a newly formed Indigenous Partnership Council (IPC) that will aim to reinforce the presence and engagement of Indigenous communities in the events leading up to and during the Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games. The IPC will be comprised of representatives from local, provincial and national Indigenous communities and groups including”

• Six Nations of the Grand River,
• Niagara Regional Native Friendship Centre
• Fort Erie Friendship Centre
• The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation,
• Metis Nation of Ontario,
• NPAAMB, Inuit and
• Brock University.

In collaboration with the 2021 Canada Games Host Society, the IPC’s vision will be to build a legacy for an inspiring, unifying and transformative 2021 Canada Summer Games by sharing the diverse cultures of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples. Their mission will be to co-welcome and educate the athletes, their families, guests, the larger Niagara community, and viewers nationwide on the original peoples and their beautiful ways of life by sharing their distinct cultures, traditions, songs, dances, and craftsmanship to create a unique cross-cultural experience for all at the 2021 Canada Games in Niagara.

In order to achieve that, the IPC will play an important role in the Games’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Niagara Place, the 13-for-13 Cultural Festival, and the celebrations surrounding the reintroduction of the Indigenous game of lacrosse to the Canada Games.

James Makokis of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation and Anthony Johnson of the Navaho Nation in the US successfully represented the LGBTQ2 community as the first Two-Spirit Team (Team Ahkameyimok) on AMAZING RACE CANADA. They together learned that they will always be able to overcome any situation if they face issues head on with a strong commitment to their values and each other.

As winners of Season Seven they showed that not only were they fierce competitors, but also they were able to provide Canadians and the world a new perspective and become role models for Indigenous, Two Spirt and LGBTQ2 peoples

thehockeywriters.com – Carey Price, goaltender for the Montréal Canadiens, has Nuxalk and Southern Carrier (Dakelh) Indigenous heritage, and his mother, Lynda, was the chief of the Ulkatcho First Nation and the first woman elected to the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs board of directors.

Keeping it steady has been the key to his success on the world stage and in the maelstrom of Montreal. Price is a gold-medalist at the World Juniors, Olympics and World Cup, and in the 2014-15 season, his 44 wins broke a franchise record shared by Plante and Ken Dryden. It led the NHL, and he was first in goals against average (1.96), and save percentage (.933). He won the Hart Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award – the first goalie to win all three – and shared the William Jennings Trophy with the Chicago Blackhawks’ Corey Crawford. During one of his many acceptance speeches, Price said: “I would really like to encourage First Nations youth to be leaders in their communities. Be proud of your heritage and don’t be discouraged from the improbable. Chanalya – thank you.”

Price, who was given the Jean Béliveau Trophy, which recognizes a Canadiens player for his “outstanding charity work and community involvement” in 2014, still returns to British Columbia every offseason and continues to give back to his hometown through the Breakfast Club of Canada, as well as donating thousands of dollars in hockey equipment.

Inaugural “Gathering” at the University of Manitoba explored ways to achieve the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s nine Calls to Action related to sport (#87 – #91) and education (#62 – #65) that will support the development of culturally relevant sport, recreation, and physical education systems.
The forum identified a variety of core issues related to sport and recreation at the Indigenous level, and recommendations on how to move forward:

• Indigenous youth face far too many barriers in accessing adequate sport and recreation programs in their communities
• the crucial need for sport and recreation champions in the Indigenous community.
• need to re-design long-standing sport and recreation funding and organizational structures to incorporate Indigenous values and ethics.