b'ROLE MODELSW hether in the water, behind the podium, orYou have to get involved. When I was in competitive swim-in the community, Waneek Horn-Miller hasming, there were no Native people around, but my Mom got pushed the boundaries for Indigenous womeninvolved. She became the president of the swim club. She did in sport. CCAB reached out to the Canadianall she could to try to impact that little world and make sure that water-polo Olympian for her perspective onwe knew we werent alone. And that is important. Whatever the challenges, as well as opportunities, facing women in thesport you decide your child shows interest in, dont be passive. Indigenous sporting community.Inject yourself into that world and try to create space for your children. Be part of the change. Q: Are there enough Indigenous women in sports?A: Its growing, but its still a very male-dominated area. TheQ: Any words of wisdom to share with young Indigenous funny thing is though, when you look at the list of Indigenouswomen hoping to follow in your footsteps?Olympians, the majority are female. You have Shirley andA: Be prepared to be a teacher of who you are. Be ready to Sharon Firth in cross-country skiing, Angela Chalmers in trackteach how you view the world. Also, be true to yourself. Theres and field, Colette Bourgonje from the Paralympics, and myself.a real push in sports to assimilate into the mainstream culture, So, it gets a little better with every generation, but there is stillbut those arent our cultures. Theyre not Indigenous ways less representation for women than there should be.of knowing, doing and being powerful. I believe our people have a lot to teach the world about toughness and resiliency, Q: What barriers do they face? so bring your culture with you. Dont leave it behind, because A: There are the stereotypes of Indigenous women that youwhen you leave your culture behind you, you put out your fire. must grapple with out there in the world. The stereotypes thatFinally, you can have someone be the best athlete in the world were erotic and promiscuous, for example, which contributephysically, but if they arent there mentally, emotionally or to this dangerous idea that were commodities.spiritually, theyll never be the greatest. From my experience, Then there are cultural norms within our own societies thatathletes who may have a little less physical talent but more fire, say what a woman should and shouldnt behow a womandetermination and drive are the ones that become the greats.should and shouldnt act and what is considered traditional. I was doing something very non-traditional, and I was being told as much. It was very hard to have people tell me I wasnt really Native, especially living in a time where reclaiming our identity is such a big thing. People in my community would say, Well, you should have long hair because thats where your power lies. But when youre in a pool six hours a day then having long hair is not something you want.Thats why having autonomy over my own body is a big part of being an athlete. You feel that sense of control over your body and your identityyoure able to define that. It wasnt always easy for me to say, This is how I express being a Mohawk woman. I may not look like what you think I should look like, but this is who I am. I was lucky that I had a mother who was so strong and powerful and, in her day, was breaking norms of what Indigenous women were supposed to be. Q: As the first Mohawk woman to compete in the Olympic Games, do you feel you have a responsibility to inspire younger Indigenous women? A:Absolutely. And thats a big part of why Im studying Indigenous motivation. I was actually recruited by the University of British Columbia. Someone said, Weve seen you speak for 20 years on Indigenous empowerment and now you need to start putting what youve been saying into something that can be studied. You need to contribute so that other people can learn from you. Q: How do we nurture the involvement of Indigenous women in sport?A: It has to be intentional. It cant be something you hope is just going to blossom out of nothing. You have to take action. Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT25'