Carey Price (TheAthletic.com)
*This Sincere Sports article is part of the NBE3U1 #Wokesettler podcast assignment*
The purpose of sports has been constantly debated. Some people say that it's nothing more than a game. Others take it far more seriously and consider sports to be a way of life. Toronto Maple Leafs fans think the point of sports is to be sad in a collective group. There is no real right answer to this question.
But after some pondering, I have discovered the purpose of sports, from my perspective. I think that sports exist to build team spirit and to inspire a confident nature in its athletes. In that sense, sports are far more than just a game. They aren't exactly a way of life either. Rather, sports are a series of lessons, used to help people find their identity. You could even compare it to school. If the point of school is to help young children discover who they are as students, the point of sports is to help young children discover who they are as competitors.
Now that you have that picture in your head, imagine subtle barriers being put up to prevent individuals of a certain racial category from excelling in school. Think of a group of people feeling ashamed of representing their school at tournaments, since they have been treated so poorly by the institution historically. Consider a world in which that school that has continuously mistreated those students is simply refusing to admit that they committed any wrongdoing. Sounds a bit more serious now, doesn't it?
Well, you now have a general vision of what it would be like to be an aspiring Indigenous athlete in Canada.
There is a reason that only 0.68% of the athletes to represent Canada in the past two Olympics have been Indigenous. There is a reason that there were only 5 Canadian hockey players of Indigenous descent in the past NHL season. There are simply way too many obstacles facing people of First Nations, Metis and Inuit backgrounds in 2022.
Runner Riley ManyBears is one of many Indigenous people to face difficulties in qualifying for the Olympics (CBC)
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada published a crucial document: the 94 Calls to Action. Of those 94 Calls to Action, 5 of them were listed under the subsection "Sports and Reconciliation." Most of these appeals related to increased funding and further action to diminish racism in local leagues. Since then, inclusivity has taken a minor step forward, but it isn't nearly enough. Sure, having 50 Indigenous athletes for Tokyo 2020 was a drastic increase from the 3 at Rio in 2016. However, when you consider that less than 0.5% of sportspeople were Indigenous in Tokyo, that increase isn't quite as impressive.
In 2021, CBC Indigenous assembled an expert panel to discuss the issues that are still present in the present day. They mentioned some of the impediments that are preventing a surge in Indigenous participation.
The first topic was general racism. You don't need to be a genius to figure that the risk of taunts, gestures and mass generalizations would convince many people to just stay home. But I would argue that racism goes far beyond that. Why should Indigenous athletes feel the need to represent Canada? Many major athletic corporations in Canada have never expressly spoken out against assimilation. In fact, associate history professor Christine O'Bonsawin thinks they support assimilation of Indigenous people. National pride is different from somebody who has been mistreated for their entire life by federal governments. I can't say for sure, but I imagine it would be difficult to represent a country that sent family members to residential schools.
Racism isn't the only issue, though. The CBC panel spoke about poverty and a lack of opportunity. Anybody who played sports as a kid knows that they are incredibly expensive. Not only do you need to register for the league, but you need top-class equipment and training sessions to really elevate yourself as an athlete. That's no small matter for people who are often overlooked for job opportunities. As I just alluded to, there is also a significant lack of opportunity. For those that still live on reserves, long drives and limited access to nearby stadiums/arenas pose legitimate obstacles.
It will take a long time before Canada can right these wrongs. As you might expect, drastic action is required to do so.
But it's not all bad. Rightfully, some sporting leagues are understanding that sport could serve a vital role in promoting reconciliation, particularly in Canada. A few weeks ago, the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer (MLS) hosted their second annual Indigenous Peoples Match and invited 100 children from the nearby communities.
100 local Indigenous youth attending a MLS match (Vancouver Whitecaps/Twitter)
In the NHL, three Indigenous players had breakout seasons, as defensemen Brandon Montour, Ethan Bear and Zach Whitecloud were all important depth pieces for teams with winning records. Famed First Nations goalie Carey Price made his return to the Montreal Canadiens crease after a mental break to help ease the issues he faced with substance use. The Canadiens and the Vancouver Canucks both wore warmup jerseys designed by Indigenous artists this past season.
News has come out in recent days that an Indigenous-led bid has emerged to host the 2030 Olympics in Whistler, B.C. The reports are that this bid could very well be the favourite option.
To summarize, Indigenous athletics are slowly rising in prominence. There hasn't been any drastic change, which I said might be necessary to repay the contributions of the past. But slight improvements to the contemporary issues will be welcome.
So while this article talked a lot about the some negative problems, there is reason for positivity. As long as we can make steps towards understanding just how integral Indigenous peoples have been in sporting history, we should be hopeful that these contemporary issues can soon be eradicated.
STATS ACQURED COURTESY OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED
Comments
Post a Comment