Indigenous Sports

Hockey sticks reflect Indigenous skills

At the end of each of the 31 games played in the 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship held in Halifax and Moncton in January 2023, one person from each team was named Player of the Game and given a special hockey stick.

Hockey Canada partnered with Mawi'Art: Wabanaki Artist Collective, an organization that focuses on developing and promoting Indigenous artists to produce the special sticks, which featured artwork by four highly respected Indigenous artists-Emma Hassencahl-Perley, Lorne Julien, Robin Jipjaweg Paul and Natalie Sappier. Each artist was tasked with creating 20 sticks.

Indigenous designs on the Player of the Game sticks is not a new concept - Alberta Based Artist Jason Carter created designs on sticks given out at the 2022 world juniors in Edmonton.

Officials with the 2023 IIHF said including Indigenous talent and stories was part of the local bid offer to host the games.

First national Indigenous women's football team formed

For the first time, a national Indigenous team will be part of the women's U18 tackle football Canadian championship in Ottawa in July. For the 2023 tournament the national Indigenous team will join teams from Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Quebec and two teams from Ontario.

"This is historic," Kevin Hart, a Football Manitoba Hall of Famer told CBC News, who has worked for two years to create such a team. "It's never been done by Hockey Canada or any of the other national sports organizations to bring us as Indigenous peoples within their own systems to treat us as equals and say 'Yes, we're going to give you a national team."

Football Canada created a diversity task force made up of coaches, officials and current and former CFL players in order to address diversity, inclusion and equity on the Canadian football scene. One of the task force's major goals was to create the team.

Shannon Donovan, executive director of Football Canada, said the new Indigenous team is a result of increasing Indigenous representation and women and girls participating in the sport.

Look for the national Indigenous team program to continue in other divisions of the women's game as well as the men's side for both tackle football and flag football.

British Columbia holds first Indigenous Golf Championship

British Columbia is holding it's first Indigenous Golf Championship. From May 28–30, at the Nk'Mip Canyon Desert Course in South Okanagan, 128 First Nations, Métis and Inuit athletes will be able to compete in the inaugural tournament, which is a partnership between the Office of the Lieutenant-Governor of B.C. and the Osoyoos Indian Band, which owns the course.

"If we can get more exposure for the game of golf in our communities and with members of our society that may not have traditionally been engaged with the game of golf, that's a huge piece of this," Christina Proteau, a competitive golfer and chair of the organizing committee, told Canadian Press.

The youth division of the tournament will serve as the final qualifying round for golfers under 19 who want to represent B.C. at the North American Indigenous Games in July.

Ontario held its first Indigenous golf championship last year, and tournaments there and in B.C. will qualify golfers to compete in a national event this fall on Vancouver Island.

Medal design chosen for Indigenous games

The 2023 North American Indigenous Games Host Society officially unveiled the medal designs of the 2023 Games at an event in Millbrook First Nation, N.S. The medals, initially designed by Hardwoodlands youth Ella Scothorn and finalized by Mi'kmaw artist Tayla Fern Paul, were revealed at an event that featured Indigenous artists and dancers that recognized the six-month mark to the Games. More than 100 design submissions were received in an open design competition. Nearly 3,000 gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded during the Games.

The medal design incorporates several Mi'kmaq symbols.

• An eight pointed star inspired by Mi'kmaq petroglyphs found in Bedford, N.S. represents the territory where all will gather

• A symbol that represents the world "L'nu". The term the Mi'kmaq use to describe themselves as Indigenous people. It means "the people."

• The curved designs are common in Mi'kmaw cultural drawings and etchings and are meant to represent the things that grow and transpire when you follow your dreams.

• The ribbon features the NAIG 2023 logo and "Kjipuktuk," meaning "Great Harbour"

"It makes me feel really proud and excited to see my designs come to life," said designer Ella Scothorn, who created the initial design in 6th grade, and is now in 9th grade.

From July 15 to 23, 2023, more than 5,250 athletes, coaches and officials from over 750 Nations from across Turtle Island will participate in more than 16 sports, attracting thousands of visitors, VIPs, officials and media. NAIG 2023 will mark the 10th edition of the Games. The NAIG 2023 Host Society is looking for 3,000 volunteers to commit at least 18 hours over the Games period. Interested people can apply online at naig2023.com/opportunities

The Games are supported by the Government of Canada, the Government of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Coaches and students hoping for vaccine changes

Coaches and teams heading to this summer's North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) are calling for its COVID-19 vaccine mandate to be lifted.

"To not let these kids go that are not vaccinated, I don't think that's fair," Mike Benedict, head coach of Team Eastern Door and the North's U-19 boys lacrosse team told CBC News. Team Eastern Door and the North (EDN) is sending around 300 athletes from First Nations and Inuit communities in Quebec to the games, which are set to take place July 15-23 in Halifax and Millbrook First Nation in Nova Scotia. Benedict, said vaccination rules could hurt his players, and his coaching staff agreed to boycott the games if a solution is not met.

Karonhiio Curotte from Kahnawà:ke, a Kanien'kehá:ka community south of Montreal, said he may lose half of his archers if the mandate is not lifted. As a first responder, he knows the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine, but questions why the vaccine policy has not been lifted, as similar mandates have been lifted for other sporting events in Canada, including the recent Arctic Winter Games and the Canada Winter Games.

Médérik Sioui, the chef de mission for Team EDN, agrees with lifting the mandate, telling CBC News, "We are not dealing with COVID-19 the same way we were dealing a year ago. . . . Right now there is no state of emergency anywhere in Canada, there is no requirement anywhere else in Canada," he said.

Half of EDN's contingent of athletes and coaches are from Kahnawà:ke, where the NAIG has denied vaccine exemption requests from about 20 athletes and 10 coaches.

Roiatate Horn the director of sports and recreation at the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, pointed out, "For a lot of athletes in the community, this is their Stanley Cup. This is their Super Bowl."

In a March 2 news release, NAIG Council said it will continue with its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, requiring all athletes, coaches, managers, officials, guests and media to provide proof of a complete series of a Health Canada approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days before the 2023 Games.