Chef de mission Catriona Le May Doan presented First Nations drum to bang in Beijing

By: The Canadian Press Posted: 7:26 AM CST Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022

BEIJING - The sound of a First Nations drum will again do the work of absent Canadian fans at an Olympic Games.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

BEIJING - The sound of a First Nations drum will again do the work of absent Canadian fans at an Olympic Games.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/02/2022 (1676 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BEIJING – The sound of a First Nations drum will again do the work of absent Canadian fans at an Olympic Games.

No international spectators were allowed to travel to Beijing’s Winter Olympics because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chef de mission Catriona Le May Doan will make her presence felt at venues where Canadians are competing by banging on a Maskwacis Cree Nation drum given to her by Chief Wilton Littlechild in a Calgary ceremony before Doan’s departure for China.

Doan’s counterpart Marnie McBean did the same at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics with a drum presented to her in a Coast Salish ceremony.

“We were all so inspired by Marnie’s initiative last year and I had hoped to have been presented the honour as well,” Le May Doan said Wednesday in a statement.

“This drum will be coming with me everywhere in Beijing and will be an inspiration to the athletes as it symbolizes our connection to Indigenous communities. It will truly be the heartbeat of Team Canada and connect us all.”

Littlechild, who was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2018 as a builder for his work in Indigenous sport, is the international chief of Treaties Six, Seven and Eight.

Doan took possession of the drum in a private ceremony at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park, which is a legacy venue site from the 1988 Winter Olympics there.

“The drum beat is the heartbeat of Mother Earth and it always brings us together much like the power of sport and the Olympic Games,” Littlechild said in the statement.

“Let the heartbeat of Mother Earth inspire all of Team Kakanatak. May our creator, Great Spirit, watch, bless and guide you as you lead our country and thank you for acknowledging this is an act of reconciliation.”

Canadian athletes start competing Thursday in mixed doubles curling, moguls and women’s hockey ahead of Friday’s opening ceremonies in Beijing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2022.