Photo from first annual Youth Inspiration Day at the 7 Chiefs Sportsplex and Jim Starlight Memorial Centre in Tsuu'tina / Photo by Keith Driver
Indigenous Youth from across Alberta and beyond gathered in Calgary on April 3 and 4 to take part in the first ever Indigenous Youth Inspiration Day hosted by the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (CSHF) in Calgary and the Tsuu’tina Nation.
One of the primary objectives of the CSHF is to promote and share the stories of Canada’s top athletes who have made a positive impact beyond their sport.
Since 1955, the CSHF has inducted 740 athletes in approximately 80 sports, all of whom have competed in a range of events, from professional to Olympic medal-winning levels.
Over the years, members of the CSHF noticed that its Indigenous members have been overlooked, and to highlight their accomplishments to Indigenous youth, the CSHF, with the assistance of various sponsors like the Black Diamond Group, created Youth Inspiration Day.
President and CEO of the CSHF Cheryl Bernard shares how the day came together.
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For two days, the youth heard and interacted with various Indigenous and Non-Indigenous athletes, including:
- Mohawk Water Pollo medalist Waneek Horn Miller Order of Sport Recipient & Hall of Famer, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame of Kahnawake in Quebec
- Cree Michael Linklater Former Canadian Elite Basketball League Guard for the Saskatchewan Rattlers and one of the top 3-on-3 Basketball players
- Season 10 Amazing Race Canada winning All-Female Team Katie Mulkay and Miawpukek Taylor McPherson
Because of the many challenges athletes overcome, they are often role models for the next generation, and for Indigenous youth, it is people who have gone through the struggles of intergenerational trauma.
Bernard explains the impact of having the youth hear and meet Hall of Famers during the two-day workshops.
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CSHF plans on hosting the workshops again in the future. One of the challenges for the program for youth outside of the Calgary area is the cost of travel and accommodation, but thanks to the many sponsors of the workshops, all the youth who attended the two-day workshop had all their costs covered.
One of the ways CSHF is looking to reach more youth who can’t attend the workshops held in the Calgary area is to potentially hold smaller workshops in other communities to empower the next generation of Indigenous athletes.
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