Category Archive for "Indigenous Stories"

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada supports Aboriginal Long-Term Participant Development in First Nations Schools

Four Indigenous schools are benefiting from funding that Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) has distributed this year. The New Paths to Education Program grant was introduced to improve the quality of education in First Nations schools and promote innovative approaches in education. The Aboriginal Long-Term Participant Development Pathway (ALTPD), a joint creation between the…

Making meaningful competition affordable and accessible in rural Saskatchewan

Reflecting on the competition concepts outlined in Section 1 and Long-Term Athlete Development/Long-Term Participant Development Pathway 10 Key Factors, there are questions to consider when examining competition from a sport and athlete development perspective. To participate in competition, how far and how much does it cost to travel? Are associated competition fees and travel too…

How to create meaningful competition: calendar planning, competition selection, and a quality event

Two of the desired outcomes of meaningful competition are that it supports competitors’ learning and encourages their improvement. Since being introduced to organized football in 2009, the Aboriginal athletes of northern Saskatchewan have displayed these qualities in abundance. “It would be an understatement to say that football has had an impact on indigenous young people,…

Competition: Contributing to the positive development of athletes

It’s hard to imagine that an 18-year-old lacrosse player who was selected fifth overall in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) draft – who was named to both the all-star and all-rookie teams in his inaugural season, who proceeded to win the NLL championship in each of his first three seasons in the league, and who…

The Dichotomy Between the Aboriginal and Mainstream Sport Systems

Every Easter weekend for the past 55 years, hundreds of Aboriginal soccer players from around British Columbia have come to Victoria to compete in the annual Totem Soccer Tournament. Upwards of 70 teams – spanning men’s, women’s and youth divisions – treat the Victoria soccer community to a display of quality soccer. Likewise, the ‘Namgis…

The challenges around meaningful competition

Every 3 years the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) brings together thousands of Aboriginal athletes from across the continent to compete in the 14-sport event. For many of these athletes, ranging in age from 13 to 19 and striving for excellence in their respective sports, the NAIG is the ultimate moment in their athletic careers.…

The power of sport and meaningful competition

Sport has a potential beyond what happens in the field of play. It can be the mechanism to cope with and ultimately overcome tragedy and grief. If the sport structure provides meaningful competition for participants, it can open the door to opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have. When the God’s Lake Narrows First Nation School’s…