OLYMPIC FIRST
CALGARY — Putting on her hockey gear and stepping onto the ice was Brigette Lacquette’s refuge when she was a kid.
It was where she felt less selfconscious, and where she wouldn’t be teased about her skin rashes from persistent eczema.
But hockey ceased to be that sanctuary at around age 12, when she began hearing racists barbs and comments on the ice.
“It was easy for us to walk away,” her father Terance said. “Many First Nations people walked away before when confronted by racism on the ice.
“But I told her ’Don’t walk away. If you walk away now, you’re going to walk away from everything in life.’
“She took that challenge on and she showed not only that the girls she played with and against ’you know what, I’m going to show you how good I am.’ She worked her butt off.
“Next thing you know, she’s excelled and put herself in a place to be successful just by working hard and being determined.”
Lacquette (pronounced la- KWET) is not the first Indigenous woman to compete on Canada’s team — her teammate Jocelyne Larocque of Ste. Anne, Man., has Métis heritage — but she is the first First Nations player ever, according to Hockey Canada.
She’ll make her Olympic debut later this month in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Lacquette, a 25-year-old defender with a heavy shot grew up in the tiny Métis community of Mallard, Man., which is four hours north of Winnipeg and accessible by one unpaved road.
Her mother Anita is from Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan and Terance is from O-Chi-Chak Ko Sipi First Nation in Manitoba.
“To be that person to pave the way for many young First Nations girls across Canada, it’s exciting for me,” Brigette said. “I’m proud of who I am and where I come from and who I represent.”
Lacquette says watching Inuit forward Jordin Tootoo play for Canada’s junior hockey team in 2003 when she was 11 was significant moment because she didn’t have any Indigenous hockey heroes.
She’s now that player for young girls across the country. A throng of people from her community travelled to Winnipeg to watch her play for Canada in a Dec. 5 exhibition game against the U.S.
During the game, her teammates pointed out a sign held by a young girl near the players’ bench that said “All I want for Christmas is a stick from my idol Brigette Lacquette.”
Lacquette obliged by tossing her stick over the glass. The recipient burst into tears.
“She was so pumped,” Lacquette said. “That was before the (Olympic) team was named. I just couldn’t believe that I was that person for them.”
She’s received more than moral support from her First Nations community.
When the cost of playing hockey increased for Lacquette and her older sister Tara, a former University of Manitoba goaltender, the Cote First Nation covered some of their expenses.
“Growing up, my family didn’t have a lot of money,” Lacquette said. “They definitely helped offset the cost of minor hockey fees and whatnot.”
Lacquette played for Canada’s silver-medal teams in the 2015 and 2016 world championships. The University of Wisconsin alum was among the last players cut from Canada’s Olympic team in 2014.
“The first thing that comes to mind is her relentlessness and her resiliency,” Canadian head coach Laura Schuler said.
“She doesn’t let anything get in her way. When she has a goal in mind with what she wants to do, it doesn’t matter.”