NATIONAL INDIGENOUS HISTORY MONTH
CELEBRATING CHAMPIONS IN SPORT
INDIGENOUS HISTORY MONTH 03
Reconciliation
06
Joy Spear Chief-Morris
08
Colton Yellow Horn
09
Charleton Weasel Head
10
Julian Spear Chief-Morris
11
Tom Three Persons
12
Dallas Soonias
13
Fred Sasakmoose, Jordin TooToo , Carey Price
14
Richard Peters, Brigette Lacquette
15
Tom Longboat
03
09
15
14
06
08
13
June 2021
Truth and
RECONCILIATION Lethbridge
Too many Canadians know little or nothing about the deep historical roots of these conflicts. This lack of knowledge has serious consequences for First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples and for Canada. - TAR COMMISSION’S FINAL REPORT
"The City of Lethbridge is committed to advancing reconciliation and fostering meaningful relationships with Indigenous peoples and Communities, including our Blackfoot Confederacy neighbors in Kainai, Piikani and Siksika First Nations, as well as the Lethbridge Métis Council. This important, transformational work is led by the Indigenous Relations Office, with the advice and support of Lethbridge City Council's Reconciliation Lethbridge Advisory Committee, and in partnership with individuals and organizations from across the community." - As seen on the City of Lethbridge Website. The Truth and Reconciliation Report has five calls to action (87 to 91) related to sport. One of the five is to tell the story of
Indigenous athletes in history in collaboration with the Indigenous community, sports halls of fame, and other relevant organizations. Lethbridge Sport Council encourages local Indigenous and sport communities to submit nominations to halls of fames, sport, volunteer and community awards. Lethbridge sport council has successfully helped submit many award and halls of fame nomination packages. Reach out to Susan@lethbridgesportcouncil.ca for guidance to develop a nomination for the Lethbridge Spots Hall of Fame, Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, LSC Achievement Awards or other sport-related award or recognition. June 2021
So what are the Truth and Reconciliation acts that involve sport? The calls to action that involve sport are 87 - 91 and can be seen below: 87. We call upon all levels of government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, sports halls of fame, and other relevant organizations, to provide public education that tells the national story of Aboriginal athletes in history. 88. We call upon all levels of government to take action to ensure long-term Aboriginal athlete development and growth, and continued support for the North American Indigenous Games, including funding to host the games and for provincial and territorial team preparation and travel. NO OTHER DOMAIN OF COMMUNITY LIFE HAS DEMONSTRATED SPORT’S CAPACITY TO CONNECT SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE TO POSITIVE ADULT ROLE MODELS AND MENTORS, OPPORTUNITIES FOR POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT, AND HELP TO ACQUIRE CRITICAL LIFE SKILLS. - Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Final Report
89. We call upon the federal government to amend the Physical Activity and Sport Act to support reconciliation by ensuring that policies to promote physical activity as a fundamental element of health and well-being, reduce barriers to sports participation, increase the pursuit of excellence in sport, and build capacity in the Canadian sport system, are inclusive of Aboriginal peoples.
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION Acts 87 - 91
90. We call upon the federal government to ensure that national sports policies, programs, and initiatives are inclusive of Aboriginal peoples, including, but not limited to, establishing: 1. In collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, stable funding for, and access to, community sports programs that reflect the diverse cultures and traditional sporting activities of Aboriginal peoples. 2. An elite athlete development program for Aboriginal athletes. 3. Programs for coaches, trainers, and sports officials that are culturally relevant for Aboriginal peoples. 4. Anti-racism awareness and training programs.
91. We call upon the officials and host countries of international sporting events such as the Olympics, Pan Am, and Commonwealth games to ensure that Indigenous peoples' territorial protocols are respected, and local Indigenous communities are engaged in all aspects of planning and participating in such events.
Joy is an Indigenous Black Canadian 100m hurdler. A proud member of Kainai Blood Tribe, Joy grew up in Lethbridge, Alberta where her she developed her love for sport by chasing around her older brother. In 2017, Spear Chief-Morris won the Student-Athlete Community Service Award for her involvement in the Indigenous community as a volunteer speaker and motivator for the Kainai 5k Community Fun Run, which encourages health and fitness in the Kainai community. She was the keynote speaker at the Kainai Truth and Reconciliation Conference’s First Nations | 03 Day. She spoke to 150 youth track and Field (ages 12-14) about the power of sport.
Joy's been recognized for her accomplishments as an Indigenous athlete on and off the track with the 2017 Tom Longboat Award and with both the 2017 OUA and USports Student Athlete Community Service Awards. Joy was the featured cover athlete for the 2019 May/June issue of Canadian Running Magazine. Spear Chief-Morris is also a record holder in the 60m, 60mH, and 4 x 200m, USPORTS national champion in the 60m and bronze medalist in the 60m hurdles and silver medalist in the 4 x 200m race. In the 2017 season, she received three medals at the OUA Championships, earning Track MVP honours second consecutive season.
June 2021
Joy briefly attended the University of British Columbia where she was a 2x All American and 2014 NACAC U23 silver medalist in the 4x100m relay. She transferred to Western University in 2014 where she completed her Bachelor’s degree, competing as a Western Mustang on the Western Track and Field Team. At Western, Joy became a highly-decorated sprinter and hurdler. Among her achievements, she is a Canadian university national champion and 7x national medalist; 3x Ontario University Athletics Champion, 8x OUA medalist and 2x OUA Female Track Event MVP; 5x Academic All Canadian; 3x Western Mustangs Women’s Track MVP, and the Western Women’s Track and Field’s record holder in the 60m, 60m hurdlers and 4x200m first leg split. In 2017 Joy was named Western’s F.W.P. Jones Top Graduating Female Athlete of The Year as well as the Honourable G. Ferguson Award for high achievement as a graduating student-athlete. Joy has a Bachelor’s degree in History and First Nations Studies and a Master’s degree in Political Science specializing in Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction at Western University. Her research focused on Indigenous land claim settlements and reconciliation within Canada, looking particularly at land and relationship. Joy uses her knowledge as an
Indigenous researcher along with her experiences as a Black Canadian to examine the intersections of race in colonial systems and political institutions. Joy also has her own blog where she shares her experiences as an Indigenous Black Canadian athlete as well her thoughts on political events. She recently sat on the Board of Directors for AthletesCAN and was a member of the Athletes Council for Athletics Canada. Joy works at the Indigenous Student Centre at Western University as the Student Opportunities Coordinator. Joy represented Canada at the 2019 FISU World Universiade where she placed 5th in the 100m hurdles. Joy currently trains in London, Ontario where she is training to win a spot for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. June 2021
Colton Yellow Horn is native to Brocket, Alberta and is a Blackfoot Canadian. He was born on May 5th, 1987. Yellow Horn played major junior beginning in 2003-04 in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and the Tri-City Americans. In five seasons play in the league, he consistently scored beyond a point-per-game pace. In 2007-08, Yellow Horn was named to the WHL West First All-Star Team. Yellow Horn turned pro and headed overseas to play in Europe. June 2021
Charlton Weasel Head rose from stardom on high school basketball courts to starring on the national stage at the university level during an athletic career that has led him into coaching other young athletes. An all-around athlete at Kainai High School on the Blood Reserve, Weasel Head shone on the gridiron for the Warriors football team. But he was even better with a basketball in his hands, leading the Warriors to success with his scoring, passing and defence. He also starred with the Alberta Juvenile squad in 1995. In his Grade 12 year, Weasel Head sparked the Warriors to a bronze medal at the 3A | 03 boys’ Provincials in Red Deer, scoring 23 points in the third-place victory. Then it was on to post-secondary ball at Lethbridge Community College, where he was an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference All-star each of his three seasons with the Kodiaks,
From there, Weasel Head moved on to the next level, joining the Brandon University Bobcats and was a starting guard on a team that finished as Canadian Inter-university Athletic Union silver medalists in 2000 and 2001. He was chosen as a second-team allstar in the Great Plains Athletic Conference in 2001 and was a first-team tournament allstar at the 2001 nationals. The same year, Weasel Head was awarded the Tom Longboat Award for aboriginal sporting excellence, and received the Doug Crandle Student Athlete Award for 2000-01. After earning his general studies degree at Brandon, Weasel Head returned to Southern Alberta to obtain his Education Degree from the University of Lethbridge. Now a principal at Kainai High School, he continues to serve as a role model for aboriginal youth and coached the Kainai Lady Warriors into the provincial championships.
June 2021
LOCAL ATHLETES Julian P. SpearChiefMorris is an associate in the firm’s Litigation, Government Relations, and Native American Law Practices. -Jenner & Block
Julian Spear Chief-Morris was a member of the University of Lethbridge Men’s Basketball team while he attended the University earning his undergraduate degree in Urban and Regional Studies. Spear Chief-Morris is the first Indigenous president of Harvard Law School’s Legal Aid Bureau in the history of the 104-year organization. SpearChief-Morris is a member of the Blood Tribe (Blackfoot Confederacy) and he received his JD from Harvard Law School in 2018. While there, he made history by becoming the first Indigenous student to be elected president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. He was also co-president of the Native American Law Students Association. Mr. SpearChiefMorris completed over 1,200 hours of pro bono work during his time in law school and was awarded the Dean’s Award for Community Leadership. June 2021
LETHBRIDGE SPORTS HALL OF FAME Tom Three Persons was born at Stand Off on the Blood Reserve in 1886 and went on to become one of Alberta’s most famous cowboys. He was inducted into the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. Baptized as Moses Three Persons but known as Tom, his fame was sealed when he won the saddle bronc riding championship at the first ever Calgary Stampede in 1912. He went into the competition virtually unknown expect to his family and friends, who knew him as a good bronc rider. But he etched himself into rodeo history by taming the legendary bronc Cyclone with a ride that thrilled the Stampede audience and earned him a standing ovation.
His prizes included $1,000, a medal, a hand-made trophy saddle, a championship belt and a gold and silver mounted buckle. Three Persons continued to compete in rodeos and won at most of them. His success and fame inspired generations of other Blood Tribe members and opened the doors for their participation in rodeo. He was also a skilled roper and taught many young men who came to his ranch on the Blood Reserve to learn to rope or ride bucking horses. Three Persons went on to become a successful raiser of thoroughbred horses and purebred Herefords. He suffered a serious accident in 1946 from which he never fully recovered, leading to his death in 1949 at age 63. He was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1983, the Cardston Hall of Fame in 1987, the Indian Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2002 and the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame, Fort Worth, Texas in 2007. June 2021
Dallas was born on April 25, 1984 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He calls Red Deer, Alberta his hometown though; where he played on the men’s volleyball team and began his elite athlete career. He also played volleyball at University of Alberta before playing at the professional and national level.
Since retiring, he has begun working in the performing arts.
Dallas is the first First Nations player on Canada’s Men’s Volleyball team. He represented Canada 2004-2016 where he was pushed into retirement because of a knee injury and needed to have surgery done. It’s a bitter way to end your national career but he knew it was the right decision. Dallas never came to debut for Canada at the Olympics; Rio 2016 was his chance but that’s when his knee injury came into play. He was awarded the Tom Longboat Award as a National recipient in 2005. Dallas currently lives in Calgary with his wife Jaimie. He played in Indonesia, in a professional volleyball league there, for his last season before retiring fully. He is a Neechie Gear role model with Jaimie and they empower the youth through sport. July 2019
June 2021
INDIGENOUS ATHLETES IN HOCKEY
Fred was born on December 25, 1933 and from the Ahtahkakoop First Nation in central Saskatchewan. He was taken at a very young age to attend St. Michael’s Indian Residential School in Duck Lake. That is where he learned how to play hockey and once he got out of school he played for the WHL Moose Jaw team and in 1954 he was called up to the NHL. Fred was the first Canadian Indigenous player in the NHL and the first First Nations Player with treaty status. Fred played for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Jordin was born on February 2, 1983 in Churchill, Manitoba. He grew up in Nunavut his whole life, despite being born in Manitoba. Jordin is the first Inuk to play in the NHL and has received
the Tom Longboat award two times, one being awarded for the regional sector in 2000 and then again but the national sector in 2002. He played his first nine seasons with the Nashville Predators and has played for the Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils, and for the Chicago Blackhawks. Carey was born on August 16, 1987 in Anahim Lake, British Columbia. He is a BC’s Ulkatcho First Nations. Internationally, Price has represented Canada at various tournaments. He won a gold medal at the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Sweden. In 2014, Price was named to the Canadian Olympic Hockey Team and won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. In 2016, Price went undefeated to win his first World Cup of Hockey championship. June 2021
Basketball Richard is 45 years old and was born in Duncan, British Columbia. His Paralympic medals are on display at the Aboriginal Sport Gallery in BC Sports Hall of Fame. Richard was in an accident when he was young which ultimately left him paralyzed from the waist down. One day when he was at school, a wheelchair basketball team was visiting and held a come and try it event. This is where Richard found something within sport and the team saw potential in him; they asked him to practice with the team in Vancouver and that is when his career kicked off. He became a key asset to team Canada in national events, like the Olympics. He retired from the sport in 2017, and currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia with his wife.
Hockey
Brigette was born on November 10, 1992 in Mallard, Manitoba. She is the first Indigenous hockey player to play for Canada’s National Women’s team and she represented Canada at the 2018 winter Olympic Games in Pyeong Chang. The women fell short in the finals and received silver while United States got gold. This is only the beginning of Brigette’s journey and she has already given speeches to communities across Canada about her journey to the Olympic Games. Brigette was awarded the Tom Longboat Award as a National recipient in 2009. June 2021
TOM LONGBOAT Awards EST. 1951
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The Tom Longboat Awards were established in 1951 to recognize Aboriginal athletes for their outstanding contributions to sport in Canada. Tom 'Cogwagee' Longboat was a member of the Onondaga Nation on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario. He began by running on his reserve. Although he won several previous races, it was his triumphant win in the 1907 Boston Marathon that brought him to public attention. The endurance and fortitude he displayed in training and winning races are key characteristics of this man. As a program of the Aboriginal Sport Circle, the Tom Longboat Awards provide a forum for acknowledging the growth and strength of the Aboriginal sport movement in Canada and its tremendous impact on the sport development from community level participation to elite level competition. The Awards include a male and female category. June 2021