Amazing Race winners talk reconciliation
After weeks on the road throughout Canada and a first-place finish at the end of The Amazing Race Canada, Anthony Johnson and Dr. James Makokis were back in Saskatoon.
The Indigenous, two-spirit married couple came to the city to speak at the Wîcihitowin Indigenous Engagement Conference at TCU Place on Wednesday. The annual conference focuses on responding to and addressing attempts at reconciliation in Canada and “responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action,” according to a news release.
“I think it’s amazing to be back in Saskatoon,” Makokis said. “On The Amazing Race Canada, this is the first leg that we won on the show ... everyone is so welcoming and excited.”
“For us, it was more about representation,” Johnson said. “If they could see us, maybe someone who’s never interacted with an Indigenous person or someone who has a stereotype of Indigenous people can see something different.”
The pair spoke to a jam-packed conference room on the upper level of TCU Place, discussing matters of reconciliation, the importance of cultural teaching and learning, and the continued relevance of the treaties signed so many years ago.
Johnson said it was a terrific experience being in a province and a city where so many people were passionate about reconciliation and were eager to talk and more.
“Everyone seems to be really engaged and really interested in moving forward,” he said. “That’s the first starting place for anything to change, is people wanting to do it.
Johnson and Makokis made headlines when they placed first in the most recent season of The Amazing Race Canada. The pair had used their time in the limelight effectively, often wearing clothes that supported or hearkened to issues facing Indigenous people in Canada.
Makokis said winning the race definitely gave both of them a platform to talk about Indigenous issues in Canada and around the world, and he was pleased to speak to the crowd at TCU Place. “To be in 2.5 million peoples’ homes every Tuesday evening, sharing a message ... was a way of getting those things across,” he said.