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These are difficult stories. We bear witness in this chapter to the role of sport in furthering the settler colonial projects throughout Turtle Island. Here are some supports to access in the community and from a distance:
First Peoples House of Learning Cultural Support & Counselling
Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwag Services Circle (Counselling & Healing Services for Indigenous Women & their Families) – 1-800-663-2696
Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre (705) 775-0387
Peterborough Community Counselling Resource Centre: (705) 742-4258
Hope for Wellness – Indigenous help line (online chat also available) – 1-855-242-3310
LGBT Youthline: askus@youthline.ca or text (647)694-4275
National Indian Residential School Crisis Line – 1-866-925-4419
Talk4Healing (a culturally-grounded helpline for Indigenous women):1-855-5544-HEAL
Section One: History
A) The Residential School System
Exercise 1: Notebook Prompt
We are asked to honour these stories with open hearts and open minds.
Which part of the chapter stood out to you? What were your feelings as you read it? (50 words)
I was unaware of the fact that residential schools used sport as a way of stripping Indigenous culture. For example, the schools did not allow the children to represent their cultural values through sport but instead forced them to adopt the European form of sport to make them more “white” (Volume 1, 2015). This made me feel frustrated because they continually gave them hope but took away their freedom of true expression.
Canada’s Residential Schools: The History, Part 1 Origins to 1939 The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Volume 1. (2015). McGill-Queen’s University Press. https://nctr.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Volume_1_History_Part_1_English_Web.pdf
B) Keywords
Exercise 2: Notebook Prompt
Briefly define (point form is fine) one of the keywords in the padlet (may be one that you added yourself).
| Brief definition: The Indian Act is a law that the federal government uses to administer status and the management of reserve land. It was first introduced in 1876 and has gone through many revisions.
Keyword added: Residential Schools
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C) Settler Colonialism
Exercise 3: Complete the Activities
Exercise 4: Notebook Prompt
Although we have discussed in this module how the colonial project sought to suppress Indigenous cultures, it is important to note that it also appropriates and adapts Indigenous cultures and “body movement practices” (75) as part of a larger endeavour to “make settlers Indigenous” (75).
What does this look like? (write 2 or 3 sentences)
| The process of adapting Indigenous cultures looks like the incorporation of indigenous dances and ceremonies into other cultures. Instead of displaying Indigenous culture for positive reasons, the appropriation of their dances are copied without any acknowledgment of their origins. This creates a false sense of belonging to Indigenous history and tradition.
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D) The Colonial Archive
Exercise 5: Complete the Activities
Section Two: Reconciliation
A) Reconciliation?
Exercise 6: Activity and Notebook Prompt
Visit the story called “The Skate” for an in-depth exploration of sport in the residential school system. At the bottom of the page you will see four questions to which you may respond by tweet, facebook message, or email:
How much freedom did you have to play as a child?
What values do we learn from different sports and games?
When residential staff took photos, what impression did they try to create?
Answer one of these questions (drawing on what you have learned in section one of this module or prior reading) and record it in your Notebook.
| When the residential staff took photos of the sports teams, they were trying to create the impression that the children were enjoying their experience at the residential schools. For example, a photo of a girls’ softball team at Old Sun Residential School in Alberta in the 1940s shows most of the girls smiling and enjoying themselves (Skate, n.d). If I hadn’t known the photo was associated with residential schools, then I would assume they were living happy lives. However, in reality, they were experiencing the hardest years of their lives and sport was providing them an escape from reality. The schools painted this fake picture of entertainment to advertise residential schools to other Indigenous families, with the hope that more children would join their schools. The story “Skate” describes how “school administrators used the promise of sports programs to encourage parents to comply when Indian Agents, RCMP officers or school staff took their children away” (Skate, n.d). This demonstrates the deception that was involved in the photos and how the schools were manipulating Indigenous communities. Ultimately, the staff used the photos as a way to showcase a fun and rewarding experience which was very far from the truth.
Skate. (n.d.). The Witness Blanket. Retrieved February 21, 2025, from https://witnessblanket.ca/story/skate |
B) Redefining Sport
B) Sport as Medicine
Exercise 7: Notebook Prompt
Make note of the many ways sport is considered medicine by the people interviewed in this video.
| For the indigenous population sport serves as a vital connection to their culture and language. Multiple individuals in the video described how they can use their native language while playing sport which has helped them stay connected to their culture and heritage (BC Lions, 2022). This helps increase their well-being because they can stay true to who they are and not let history such as residential schools affect their identity. For example, one of the gentlemen in the video mentioned that “those sporting moments were probably the most happy moments that we had in those schools”. This highlights the mental benefit that sport provides, even during the most difficult times. Another way sport is considered medicine is by providing an outlet to aid people in overcoming other life challenges. One of the young Indigenous girls in the video was describing how playing sports has helped her get through school and allowed her to pursue further education. She explained that sport has given her the opportunity to release tension. I interpret this as being able to let go of any added stress, enhancing her mental and physical well-being. Finally, sport serves as the central element that keeps people together, this ensures people are actively engaging in relationships and fulfilling their need for friendship and collaboration. The connection that is built through sport makes people feel proud to be Indigenous, so it not only serves as physical and mental medicine but also as social medicine.
BC LIONS. (2022, September 30). SPORT IS MEDICINE | The importance of sport for Canada’s Indigenous people [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPAS82U8uwE&t=362s
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C) Sport For development
Exercise 7: Notebook Prompt
What does Waneek Horn-Miller mean when she says that the government is “trying but still approaching Indigenous sport development in a very colonial way”?
When Waneek Horn-Miller says that the government is developing Indigenous sport in a colonial way, she is referring to the fact that the government is utilizing a top-down approach. This means that the government is imposing policies and programs without consulting the Indigenous communities, which represents a colonial way to address issues. In the video made by the CBC, she proves this perspective by saying that the government “need to start understanding how to work with us, to understand how our people will come together and develop this” (CBC News: The National, 2021). Horn-Miller’s comment demonstrates her view on the sport development in Indigenous communities, and it is clear that she feels like the Indigenous peoples don’t have enough of a voice when it comes to working with the government. The lack of consultation from the government does not necessarily mean they are intentionally trying to impact the development of sport negatively, it just means they are taking the wrong approach. For example, the government made a plan to invest 53 million dollars into Indigenous sport by the year 2022, highlighting their willingness to see improvements (CBC News: The National, 2021). However, proper communication and Indigenous representation would ensure that the funding goes to appropriate uses, but based on Horn-Miller’s point of view, that is currently lacking.
CBC News: The National. (2021, July 18). The hurdles Indigenous athletes face chasing Olympic dreams [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgoUkepAWPk&t=334s
Exercise 8: Padlet Prompt
Add an image or brief comment reflecting some of “binding cultural symbols that constitute Canadian hockey discourse in Canada.” Record your responses in your Notebook as well.
A prominent cultural symbol associated with hockey is playing on outdoor rinks because it represents the connection between the sport and the land. It also represents embracing the cold weather and utilizing it to our advantage. A lot of people complain about the snow or the cold temperatures, but Canadians have adopted the harsh climate and built traditions and meaningful memories.
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Section Three: Decolonization
Please see the major assignment for this half of the term in the final section of this chapter.
