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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)
| After reading Chapter 15, Recreation and sports: 1867-1939, one part that stuck with me throughout the reading was that Indigenous children were restricted to European recreational activities that limited their connection to cultural practices. This caused me to empathize for Indigenous children who have been deprived the opportunity to practice cultural traditions. |
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).
| Settler Colonialism is a specific type of colonialism that defines when a foreign group of settler’s move from their living location to a new region in hopes to establish a permanent residence. In the attempt to claim land, settlers will often take over land forcefully, displacing the current population living on the land. In terms Indigenous peoples, the devastating impact of settler colonialism left the Indigenous population with land dispossession, cultural erasure and generational trauma that still lingers in society today. |
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)
| In terms of body movement practices, a sport such as Lacrosse was invented by Indigenous peoples. Settlers have taken Indigenous inspirations and created new versions of this sport that are now institutionalized and disconnected from the root. This takes away from the games spirituality and cultural social functions that were built within Indigenous communities. |
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.
| Growing up in a rural community filled with neighbours and close friends, it’s safe to say that having the opportunity for play was a regular occurrence. While at school, play was often restricted where students followed a curriculum-based approach that had structured learning, social and play time. When arriving home off the bus, it was either off to recreational programming or playing with friends at the local park. Evening sports such as hockey, baseball or soccer were opportunities for me to learn new skills from a certified coach. These sports assisted me to develop skills physically, socially and emotionally that I’ve carried with me to this day. Leisure play, or what I like to call it “play”, provided me the chance to have fun with friends, for the enjoyment of having free time for play. Similar to recreational sport, I acquired skills physically, socially and emotionally along with the ability to be creative. Aging in this type of environment gave me the freedom to be myself and learn from others which is an ideal balance while growing up as a child. |
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.
| Aidan Baker
Lacrosse
William Nahini
Dr. Chief Robert Joseph
The Treadwell family Tuari Treadwell
Tayan Treadwell
Summary: The cultural aspect behind sports is a medicine gift from our creator which supports in reconciliation.
|
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 trying but still approaching Indigenous sport development in a very colonial way”, I believe this means that even though there are efforts to promote Indigenous sports, there are still significant gaps due to rooted colonial beliefs and practices. This means that although government programs are advocating for Indigenous sports development, their beliefs may not fully align with Indigenous culture and their communities. This is due to the lack of education on Indigenous traditions, which is essential for ensuring we are supporting them in a respectful way. Learning with Indigenous people about sports and development is a way to prevent misunderstanding when undergoing projects to support individuals and their communities. |
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.
Youth hockey in Canada is used to shape Canadian hockey as a discourse emphasizing our national identity by promoting youth in our communities. Canadian youth hockey represents the future, up and coming generations of hockey talent. It is a time for developing values such as teamwork and sportsmanship that carry on into adulthood. It acknowledges a sense of belonging and connection that brings individuals, families and local communities together to share experiences in and out of the arena. It all starts with youth hockey, as a way of bringing people together to form unity in our country. |
Section Three: Decolonization
Game Map Link:
