James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan is the first First Nation in Canada to get a local KidSport chapter.
The announcement was made Tuesday morning by Dinah Marion on behalf of the First Nation.
“KidSport will give more opportunities for our youth and will help them to overcome obstacles through sport,” Marion said.
“Having my children participate with the help of KidSport, they were able to play organized sports. By having a chapter in our community, it allows me to help youth and parents to learn about the financial support available for sports.”
This partnership aims to help reduce the barriers to entry into sports, with proceeds from events and fundraisers going toward families who are facing financial obstacles and allowing their kids to continue playing sports.
Around 150 students were at Tuesday’s announcement and got to hear from Brett Lachance, a shot putter with the USask Huskies Track team, about the benefits sports have had on his life.
“Sport is more than just playing. It’s development on the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual level that will impact you for a lifetime,” Lachance said.
“This is something that is going to help our community a lot coming in the next few years.”
Lachance said he grew up in Big River First Nation, but has close ties with the Peter Chapman First Nation as well.
“Growing up, it wasn’t always the best thing for me. It wasn’t always the easiest thing. Sometimes going out you never quite know what’s going to happen to you.”
He said that there was a lot of crime and other bad stuff that you could get roped into, but that one thing that really helped him growing up was playing sports.
Lachance said it could be hard growing up in a non-Indigenous community, but he said he found equal ground whenever he was playing sports.
“I struggled a lot with my identity and who I was, being an Indigenous person in a non-Indigenous world, but playing sports, it helped me bridge that gap.”
He spoke about the opportunities he got through sports, getting to go to York University in Toronto for a competition, and getting to compete where other high level athletes were competing.
“It made me feel so proud and so happy to be somewhere like that to compete in sport.”
Dorothy Josephson, a KidSport Saskatchewan committee member and a long-time volunteer with the organization, emphasized the importance of this first step.
“It’s a privilege to partner with James Smith Cree Nation and work towards reconciliation in sport,” Josephson said.
She said there were a fair number of applications for funding to get a KidSport chapter in the area, noting that was one of the many catalysts that led to the creation of this chapter.
The chapter was launched with money from Canadian Sport for All funding through Sport Canada.
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