Cultural exchange important to success of Indigenous Games

The 2017 North American Indigenous Games are bringing a message of healing to Toronto, not just through participation in sports, but through a cultural exchange.

Marcia Trudeau-Bomberry, the CEO of the games, emphasizes the cultural exchange is not just between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people, but First Nations from across the continent. That process starts with Sunday’s opening ceremony at the Aviva Centre at York University.

“Reconciliation is a two-way street,” Trudeau-Bomberry said. “It’s about non-Indigenous people taking that step to learn about Indigenous people, about the culture, about learning about some of the athletes and where they’ve come from and what they’ve gone through to make it to Toronto.

“Everyone’s got a different story to tell, different challenges and different barriers.”

Running July 16-23 in Toronto, Hamilton and nearby Six Nations, Ont., the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) are for athletes 19 or younger competing in 14 sports including track and field, basketball, baseball, boxing, golf, lacrosse, swimming and soccer. Canadian teams are broken up by province or territory, while U.S. athletes are divided into 13 regions.

The inaugural NAIG was held in 1990, but this edition has taken on new importance after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Call to Action No. 88 requested that all levels of government support the games to help heal the legacy of residential schools and ongoing systemic racism in First Nations communities.

On the surface, NAIG encourages the physical health of its competitors, but Trudeau-Bomberry sees the event as a multi-layered approach to healing Aboriginal communities. Part of that is helping non-Indigenous people experience Aboriginal culture and sports.

But NAIG is also an opportunity for Indigenous youth to meet each other, share their experiences and appreciate that they’re not alone.

“You introduce a kid to a sport and they thrive and they have this community and this feeling of inclusion that will stay with them for a lifetime,” said former Olympic boxer Mary Spencer, who competed in basketball at NAIG in 2002.

“... It’s an absolutely incredible event that’s happening in Toronto and all of us in Ontario, Indigenous or not, can be proud that we’re hosting it.”