4
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)
| The aspect of this reading that stood out the most for me was how, within residential schools, sports were employed as a means of control and assimilation. I find it deeply distressing that indigenous children were compelled to engage in these activities against their will. As a lifelong athlete, I find it frustrating that these children were forced to engage in sports when they should be enjoyable, healthy, and something to look forward to. It got me thinking about how colonial goals could be promoted by manipulating something as seemingly harmless as a game. I was both angry and saddened as I read, especially when I considered the generations of children who endured this and lost connection with their heritage. The physical punishment and emotional trauma associated with these practices also made me angry at the structural injustice that Indigenous peoples have had to deal with. It served as a clear and painful reminder of these policies’ lingering consequences and how they still affect Indigenous communities today.
|
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).
| Sport for Development Ideology
The concept makes use of sport’s ability to enhance personal growth, encourage social change, and advance community growth. It places a strong emphasis on using sport to address social issues like inequalities, poverty, and education while also fostering the development of important life qualities like resilience, teamwork, and leadership. Sport for Development seeks to empower people and communities by encouraging inclusivity and giving underprivileged groups opportunity and fostering long-term social progress.
|
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)
| Indigenous bodily movement traditions, such as dance or ceremonial gestures, were frequently appropriated by colonial settlers as part of their absorption and adaptation of Indigenous cultures, but in ways that deprived them of their cultural and spiritual value. In my opinion, this process minimized or erased the original Indigenous meanings and contexts while domesticating and commercializing Indigenous traditions, transforming them into performative or cosmetic pursuits that reinforced the colonial goal of fostering settlers’ sense of connection to the land.
|
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.
| As a child, I had a lot of freedom to play, which allowed me to explore many sports, activities, and interests without many limitations. In a relaxed setting, this flexibility encouraged creativity, physical growth, and the capacity to learn from both success and failure. But after reading about sports at residential schools, I’ve realized that plenty of children there weren’t allowed the same freedom. Rather than engaging in unstructured play, they frequently engaged in highly regulated activities that served as a means of discipline and assimilation. I’ve learnt a lot about the value of play and unstructured activities for children as a child and youth major. Thinking about the residential schools themselves makes me feel very angry and upset, but finding out how their play and activities were organized makes me feel much worse. These children’ social, emotional, and physical development was greatly harmed since they were deprived of the freedom to select their own activities or use play to express themselves. As I think about this, I see how crucial play freedom is for general wellbeing and personal development, and how its removal from such institutions may have had a lasting impact on both people and communities.
|
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.
| Sport has traditionally been seen by Indigenous people as a kind of medicine, providing a therapeutic outlet for emotional and physical recovery. Speaking their first language while playing was a very effective strategy because it improved their sense of self and belonging and enabled them to interact and form close, intimate bonds with one another. Sport was essential to Indigenous people’s progressive well-being since it not only encouraged physical fitness but also maintained community bonds, promoting solidarity and a sense of purpose. Sport became an essential tool for recovery, resiliency, and group power as a result of these activities, guaranteeing that people might advance together while maintaining their cultural heritage. |
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”?
| According to Waneek Horn-Miller, the government’s attempts to promote Indigenous sports are still based on colonial frameworks that impose control and viewpoints from others. Indigenous expertise, traditions, and leadership in influencing the growth of their own sports are still not fully acknowledged or respected by the government. Horn-Miller highlights the value of empowerment and teamwork, arguing that Indigenous peoples need to have a major part in determining the course and direction of their own cultural practices and sports. |
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.
The picture of Sidney Crosby following Team Canada’s gold medal win in 2011 captures a number of cultural symbols that are intricately woven into Canadian hockey culture. As a significant player, Crosby represents Canadian pride, athletic prowess, and the country’s enduring love of hockey. When you think of Canada, you think of hockey and Sydney Crosby is one of the most well known Canadian hockey player. All Canadians view this 2011 victory as a collective accomplishment, underscoring the significance of hockey in the nation’s identity and culture. Along with that game, the recent 4 Nations Faceoff will one that will go down in the books aswell. With everything going on between Canada and the USA right now, we (Canada) managed to claim the victory and the reactions show how symbolic hockey is to Canada. |
Section Three: Decolonization
Please see the major assignment for this half of the term in the final section of this chapter.
