b'MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENTOn-air team participating in the first NHL game to be broadcast in the Cree languageHistory in the MakingA P T N c h a n g e s t h e g a m e f o r I n d i g e n o u s s p o r t s b r o a d c a s t i n gIn March of 2019, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) broke new ground in the world of hockey broadcasting by partnering with Sportsnet to air a regular-season NHL game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes in the Plains Cree language.It was a groundbreaking move, marking the first time a major NHL game was broadcast in an Indigenous language. The network had previously aired the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships and offered parts of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in French, English and eight Indigenous languages. But realizing their viewers love hockey, APTNs executives sought out the Rogers Sportsnet partnership. From left: Clarence Iron, John Chabot, Earl Wood They put together a crack on-air team of commen- and Jason Chamakesetators for the game, consisting of radio broadcaster and native Cree speaker Clarence Iron, Montreal Canadiens veteran John Chabot and singer Earl Wood.Hockey (Life is Hockey) documented a season in the life of eight The broadcast was very well received by [both] theminor-league players enroute to the National Aboriginal Hockey Indigenous and non-Indigenous population, saysChampionships, while underEXPOSED followed action-sport APTNs executive director of programming and sched- photojournalists in search of the next big extreme-sports story.uling, Monika Ille.The networks latest sports initiative is First Across the Line, set APTN honours Indigenous participation in sport into air in February 2020. The 13-part documentary series explores many ways. It broadcast seven seasons of Hit the Ice inthe rich history of Indigenous athletes in professional sports English and Cree, a show that followed young hockeyand explores how todays youth are inspired to make their own hopefuls at an NHL-style training camp. La Vie estpersonal impact in those sports.14A CCAB PUBLICATION2020'