Gamer aims to bring esports to First Nations youth
Video games have had a positive effect on Tristan Keshane’s life, and he wants to share that with other Indigenous people in Saskatchewan.
Keshane, 23, started Treaty 4 Esports in 2017 as a way to introduce Indigenous people to competitive gaming. He co-founded the organization with his girlfriend, Shenika Severight-lerat.
Keshane may have started off trying to master games from his home, but it eventually took him to major cities all over North America. He began winning money in online pro tournaments for Call of Duty in 2010, and later travelled to esports events in Texas, Florida and California. In 2016, Keshane finished third in a national Call of Duty tournament hosted by Cineplex in Toronto, where he won $3,500.
Competitive gaming, or esports, has become a major business. Tournaments featuring cash prizes worth millions are watched online by thousands of gamers through websites such as Twitch.tv.
Getting to travel to esports tournaments is a rare opportunity, and Keshane wants to bring that excitement home. On Nov. 24, he’s putting on a tournament for the video game Fortnite at the Bear Claw Casino on the White Bear First Nation, near Carlyle, in the province’s southeast.
Keshane knows games are popular among youth on reserves, and he wants to give them a chance to experience esports. He also feels gaming could have a positive influence on kids.
“I feel like it can be used as a reward system for children. If they behave accordingly, they ’d be able to compete. In the future I can see it being implemented as a reward system in First Nation schools,” said Keshane, who is originally from Keeseekoose First Nation and currently lives in Yorkton.
That idea of a reward system draws on Keshane’s own upbringing. His mother made education a priority in their home, and Keshane had to do well in school before he could work on perfecting his gaming skills. He credited gaming with keeping him out of trouble when he was growing up.
Keshane is now putting that same discipline into practice with the latest Call of Duty title, Black Ops 4, while also taking classes at Parkland College in Yorkton. Although he’s had to scale back his gaming time because of school, Keshane is still trying to keep his skills sharp so he can attend a major competition in Las Vegas in December.
Treaty 4 Esports has already faced its share of adversity. Keshane intended to put his first tournament at Keeseekoose First Nation in June of 2017. Unfortunately, the school where the tournament was to be held was broken into, and much of Keshane’s gaming equipment was stolen.
Keshane didn’t give up though. He organized another tournament in February of 2018 at the Last Oak Golf and Country Club on Cowessess First Nation. That tournament saw 32 attendees, with some players travelling more than two hours to compete in the event.
His efforts haven’t gone unnoticed by First Nations leaders.
“He’s showing other kids there’s other things to life than doing drugs and alcohol and joining gangs to identify yourself,” said Keeseekoose First Nation Chief Calvin Straightnose in a phone interview.