b'CALL TO ACTION 87Government of Canada launched the Sport for Social Development in A Rich Legacy Indigenous Communities initiative addressing CTAs 7, 19, and 38. Sport and physical activity have the The vit al role sporting activities playedpower not only to build self-esteem and leadership skills, but also play in historic Indigenous communities a key role in supporting dynamic and healthy communities. Contemporary sports owe much to traditional Indigenous practices, but the understanding of their history is often foggy. European settlers written recordsThe countrys halls of fame are also are centuries younger than the activities they document. Also, many activitiestaking action. For instance, the BC that would now be classified as sport had specific functions within IndigenousSports Hall of Fame recently opened societies, such as conflict resolution, food gathering, hunting or transporta- a new permanent 1,000-square-tion. We offer a glimpse into some of them. foot exhibit that honours the coun-trys Indigenous athletes, explores LACROSSE Indigenous sports, and displays Re-confirmed by Parliament as the National (Summer) Sportmementosfromvariouslevels of Canada in 1994, lacrosse is related to ball games withof sport.various names played in Precontact North America, such as the Algonquian baggataway and the Mohawk tewaarathon.Further action is coming from the Native to the Eastern Woodlands, these games were greatacademic world. When Canada events with sometimes up to 1,000 players from opposingcelebrated its 150th anniversary villages or tribes participating over days across great expanses.in2017,Paraschakconceived There was also a womens version, called amtahcha, played withthe idea of a project specifically shorter sticks with larger heads. Considered one of the oldest team sports indesigned to contribute toward CTA North America, at its most basic the game was played for exercise, but it was87 by adding 150 (later changed to also played to toughen people for hunting or battle, to settle tribal differences,150+) well researched entries on or to thank the Great Spirit for the gift of life.Indigenous athletes to Wikipedia. With the help of contributions from CANOEING AND KAYAKING students and colleagues (and a The canoe and kayak were used for hunting, fishing and travelpublic editathon) the initiative on salt or fresh water for hundreds of years before the arrivalhas spawned about 190 entries.of Europeans. Inuit people built kayaks out of seal or caribou skin 2,000 years ago, pointed at both ends and completelyTheUniversityofWindsor watertight. Their double-bladed paddle made them fast andprofessorhasalsocreateda maneuverable and they were regularly used for hunting whales.website (Indigenoussporthistory.ca) On the West Coast, dugout canoes were hewn out of great hard- tocomplementtheWikipedia wood trees, while birchbark was used by the Indigenous peoplesentries. Whenever I come across of the Eastern woodlands. Canoes marked the only means of long-distancean Indigenous sport-related article, I travel by water and were critical to the survival of Indigenous communities.post it, she says, adding that some War canoeslarger canoes originally used for waralso have their origins inof her colleagues also contribute Indigenous communities. original research from time to time.TOBOGGANING AND DOGSLEDDING To fully realize CTA 87, the first Sleds were critical for travel over snow and through unclearedthing is to undercut the comments land. Developed by northern Indigenous peoples, they werethat Indigenous people have not the standard method of winter travel and were regularly usedbeen present or active in sport, to haul large animals after a hunt. The toboggan, derived fromstressesParaschak.Iftheres the Mikmaq topaghan, allowed the weight of the animal tosupposedtobeanenhanced float above the snow. In dogsledding, teams of two to 12 or morepublic understanding of Indigenous dogs were tied in pairs to a single towline attached to a sled, allowing themengagement in sport in Canada, to pull it across snow. The Inuit developed their own breedthe Canadiansport should be understood broadly Inuit Dogfor this activity, although it was eventually replaced by others moreand culturally. Whats been exciting adept at racing. A tragic part of this history is that between 1950 and 1975, theis to realize the breadth of sports government systemically killed thousands of sled dogs as part of an effort tothat Indigenous athletes have been force the Inuit to abandon their traditional camps. In 2019, Crown-Indigenousinvolved in.Relations and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett delivered a formal apology in Iqaluit for the killing of these dogs, called qimmiit, which she saidBeyond elite sports, there is so were key to your culture, survival and community health. much more, Paraschak says, and that is part of the continuing process tied to CTA 87.16A CCAB PUBLICATION2020'