Telecast in Cree a ‘fantastic’ first step

Broadcast an assist for reconciliation, says ex-NHLer Chabot

An NHL game called in Plains Cree is a step toward keeping Indigenous languages alive, says a hockey analyst. Former NHL centre John Chabot will join play-by-play announcer Clarence Iron, musician Earl Wood and Cree teacher Jason Chamakese in a Winnipeg studio on Sunday.

The panel will provide commentary and analysis of a game between the Montreal Cana- diens and Carolina Hurricanes for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.

“When you look at people’s claims to heritage and traditions, it all goes back to language,” Chabot said.

“We’re trying to reintroduce our languages into a lot of communities where it’s slipped over the last number of years. This just gives us more of an opportunity to let our kids know that our language is valued.

“To be able to present it on TV to a national audience is fantastic.”

The only other NHL broadcast in an Canadian Indigenous language happened Jan. 30, 2010, when a game between Montreal and the Ottawa Senators was delivered in the Inuit language Inuktitut.

A former NHL player and assistant coach, Chabot also has been a coach on APTN’s hockey series, Hit the Ice.

The reality TV series features young Indigenous players from across Canada at camps and tryouts, with the chance to be scouted by junior and pro leagues.

Brady Keeper, a Cree defenceman from Cross Lake, Man., became the first alumnus of the show to sign an NHL contract this past week when the 22year-old and the Florida Pan- thers agreed to a two-year deal.

Chabot will be the commentator not speaking Cree on Sunday. He says he’ll keep his English commentary “short and sweet”to give a translator time to interpret into Cree.

The game coincides with the Rogers Hometown Hockey festival stopping at the Enoch Cree Nation near Edmonton.

CBC introduced languages other than French and English to hockey games when it was the national rights holder, starting with Punjabi over a decade ago. It experimented with Mandarin, Cantonese and Italian.

Canadiens goaltender Carey Price’s mother is the former chief of B.C.’s Ulkatcho First Nation. Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland is Cree.

Given the number of Indigenous players — First Nations, Inuit and Métis — in NHL history, broadcasting games in their languages may seem long overdue.

“Not really lamenting the fact, but celebrating that it is finally … even though it is overdue, it is finally being recognized and being presented in a language that is ours,” Chabot said. “As we move forward with whatever issues we have as a country, we do want to move forward and this is one of the ways we can move forward.”