High school hosting a night of listening and celebrating

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This article was published 11/05/2024 (512 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Smudging, sports, and a celebration of Indigenous identity will be the focus of an inaugural event taking place at Westwood Collegiate on the evening of May 22. Indigenous Voices in Sport: A Night of Listening and Celebrating will feature a film screening, a panel discussion with local Indigenous athletes and knowledge keepers, and an audience Q and A.

The spring event is being organized by the collegiate’s Westwood Historical Society and Indigenous Academic Achievement group, a student-led group that meets every Tuesday morning throughout the school year to discuss and share Indigenous issues, language, and cultural practices. Students are also invited to take part in smudging prior to those weekly meetings.

“Westwood’s group is made up of both Indigenous students as well as non-Indigenous allies,” explains April Waters, the divisional administrator of Indigenous education and community support for the St. James Assiniboine School Division (SJASD). “Many of our schools have similar groups. The groups are student-driven, and create spaces where students have a voice in their school community. They engage in activities that enrich not only their own educational experiences, but also engage and educate their school community as well.”

Indigenous Voices in Sport: A Night of Listening and Celebrating is just one of several events and activities that the group has organized this year.

“The evening will focus on amplifying Indigenous voices and giving individuals a platform to share their story with high school athletes in our school division and beyond,” says Kelly Hiebert, founder of the Westwood Historical Society and a facilitator of the school’s Indigenous Academic Achievement group. “Our goal is to use sports as a pathway to reconciliation and to educate high school athletes on the importance of inclusivity.”

The event will begin with the screening of Indian Horse, a 2017 film based on Richard Wagamese’s novel of the same name. That film follows the many tribulations and intermittent triumphs of Saul Indian Horse, a gifted Ojibway athlete who survives the cruelty and discrimination of the Catholic-run St. James Residential School by putting his faith and devotion into the game of hockey rather than the Christian God.

Following the screening, three local panel members — Anishinaabe elder Chicakdee Richard, Manitoba Aboriginal Sport and Recreation’s Carriera Lamoureux, and Jason Parenteau, a SJASD parent and member of the school division’s Indigenous Advisory Council — will discuss the major themes of the film and the ways in which those themes still resonate today. They will extrapolate on the impact of colonization on the Indigenous community in general and in sports specifically, how organized sports can be employed to break down barriers and challenge prejudices, and how the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report’s ninety-four Calls to Action can help eradicate the inequities and prejudice inherent in sports.

“Truth and reconciliation work needs to happen in all areas of Canadian culture and society,” Waters says. “In the area of sport, Indigenous people have been pushed to the margins and not given equal access, and can be targets of racism.”

“Anytime we can engage our community in conversations and thinking critically about topics like this,” she continues, “it just moves our society forward for the better. Sometimes these topics seem really heavy to tackle, but the more we can listen and learn from one other, and understand how others experience things, such as sport, then we can start dealing with it. If we don’t name the problem, nothing will change.”

All coaches and high school athletic teams, as well as interested members of the public, are welcome to attend the Indigenous Voices in Sport event. The event also will be live-streamed to allow for a wider audience. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre which supports Indigenous youth in athletics and culture.

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