A 15-year-old girl from Northlands Denesuline First Nation says while she doesn’t go skating too often in her northern Manitoba community, she appreciated the chance to lace up next to former NHL players Ray Neufeld, Trevor Kidd and Gerard McDonald on Saturday morning at an outdoor rink just outside Winnipeg.
“I’m not that good, so when I do try, I am having fun because I am practising,” said Taylynn Tssessaze, who was among about 50 Indigenous youth from remote and northern communities in Manitoba participating in activities this weekend ahead of the Winnipeg Jets’ annual Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre Night on Sunday.
The weekend programming, hosted by Jets owner True North Sports and Entertainment, provides opportunities for Indigenous youth to get involved in sports through the non-profit Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre.
Young skaters who hit the ice at Camp Manitou, just west of Winnipeg, on Saturday came from the northern communities of Pauingassi, Northlands Denesuline, Bunibonibee, Shamattawa and Minegoziibe Anishinabe (Pine Creek) First Nations, and the Métis community of Duck Bay.
Some practised their slapshots while others, like Tssessaze, started with learning the basics.
She said the weekend activities gave her a chance to focus on experiencing different sports-related programming and meeting new people — and the chance to root for the Jets when they take on the Calgary Flames Sunday evening.
It’ll be her third time watching the team play at the Canada Life Centre with her peers through the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre.
“I’m expecting the most fun from the Jets game — that’s what I’m excited about,” Tssessaze said.
Neufeld, who played for the Jets between 1985 and 1988, said he loves teaching young people new skills, and being a role model for kids who are interested in hockey.
“You learn a little about their culture too, which is nice. Just the interaction with them, seeing the smiles on their faces and just the enjoyment that they’re having — that’s always the best part for me,” he said at the rink.
Stories of success, resilience
The youth also participated in a cooking and nutrition session at Camp Manitou, along with workshops focusing on mental health and wellness — learning opportunities they can take back to their communities, WASAC’s executive director Trevor LaForte said on Friday.
The sports centre has been operating for about two decades in northern communities, he said. For the last seven years, it has partnered with True North for the annual WASAC Night, including designing an Indigenous logo and jersey for the Jets.
“Those successes are very visible, but there’s many successes that are a little bit under the radar … but they carry enormous weight,” LaForte said.
Winnipeg Jets WASAC jerseys will be auctioned off at Sunday’s game in support of the centre, True North said.
Representatives from True North and the municipal and provincial governments presented a cheque for more than $45,000 to the Indigenous sports group, which will help fund programming for youth interested in sport.
While there are many stories of struggle and hardship within Indigenous communities due to the ongoing impacts of colonialism and residential schools, the centre’s co-founder, Kevin Chief, said it’s important for Indigenous people, especially youth, to hear stories based on success and resilience.
“You gotta be able to show them role models that have struggled, that have gone through adversity, and they can see a reflection of themselves in that struggle,” Chief said.
Sunday’s game will include performances by the North End Band, Métis fiddle players Morgan Grace and Jason Lepine, Métis country singer Catie St. Germain, Inuit throat singers Nikki Komaksiutiksak and her daughter Chasity Swan, and round dance singers Nathaniel Sinclair from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and Darryl Buck from Opaskwayak Cree Nation.
Métis singer Krista Rey will perform the national anthem. Puck drop is at 5 p.m. CT.