Offline
Indigenous hockey tournament combines celebration of the game and culture
News
Published on 03/08/2024

Utoo Radio with Various News Sources - March 8 2024 - Some will spend March break at one of the nation's largest hockey competitions.

The Little Native Hockey League will stage its 50th tournament in Markham, northeast of Toronto, from March 10-14, drawing 10,000 hockey players and families from around Ontario.

Sport, history, and identity are celebrated at this Indigenous youth talent show. Indigenous rituals, significant values, and hockey's inclusiveness and giving are its foundation.

The subject this year is "Honouring the Water" and aims to educate participants and the community about Turtle Island's Indigenous water crisis. Indigenous people call North America Turtle Island in their origin legends. On Sunday, Boil Alert, a water crisis documentary, will be shown twice.

The competition began with 17 teams in 1971. LNHL expects 245 teams in 2024, with at least 38 girls-only and dozens mixed-gender teams. Event volunteers number in the hundreds and over 4,000 bench personnel are certified.

The Angus Glen Community Centre will host the championship finals after 574 games in Markham arenas over four days. Local hotels, restaurants, and other businesses have been preparing for the event with aid from Indigenous Tourism Ontario, boosting the economy.

The Markham Civic Centre will host music, hoop dance, drumming, and other performers on Sunday, along with a sunrise ceremony and a holy fire that will burn all day.
Coach Pamala Agawa will attend. From Batchewana First Nation, Agawa works for Keewatin-Patricia School Board. Her girls drew her to the LNHL. Before playing hockey in her 20s, Agawa watched her dad.

Agawa says playing in this competition bonded her daughters to their Indigenous culture, even though they live far away.

"They've created friendships that will last forever," she says of her daughters' the event as a "big family reunion."

She'll continue after her two daughters are eligible.

"I won't stop when the girls age out," she said via Zoom. "Staying involved teaches the youth to grow up and lead."

Marian Jacko, a mother, lawyer, and advocate, was LNHL president. A Wiikwemkoong First Nation member. I admire Jacko and have worked with her on hockey anti-racism panels.

Over 15 years ago, her daughters wanted to play hockey, so she got involved. They played rep hockey in the city, but community involvement gave them great pleasure in themselves.

"My daughters were interested but my son wasn't," she laughed over the phone. "Since girls didn't play hockey when I was young, I lived through them. It was boys only."

Jacko supported her girls and loved the game. She began volunteering to distribute tournament programs. After a few years as a volunteer, she helped the executive construct a strategic plan, was asked to join the executive board, and became president in 2019. In 2022, she was named to Hockey Canada's board of directors.

She will cheer from the stands and enjoy the carnival-like atmosphere before Monday's games.

Jacko reminded me that this event is important for numerous reasons, even if many LNHLers play in practically every category of hockey.

"The LNHL started as a response to racism experienced by kids in Manitoulin Island," stated Jacko.

Earl Abotossaway, Norman Debassige, and Jim Debassige are gone except for Elder James McGregor. Elder McGregor, a former Whitefish River First Nation leader, will be honored at a Saturday night banquet.

The founders wanted to give Indigenous kids a safe and instructional hockey environment. Traditional hockey models still discriminate against indigenous youngsters. But the LNHL is formed by Indigenous people for Indigenous people and incorporates four pillars into its framework: sportsmanship, respect, citizenship, and education, which "honours all people."

The LNHL Hall of Fame will induct former NHL coach Ted Nolan and PHF and NWHL player Kelly Babstock. 

Comments
Comment sent successfully!