Browse "Indigenous Athletes"

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Heritage Minutes: Tom Longboat

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Fred Sasakamoose

Frederick (Fred) George Sasakamoose, CM, hockey player, Elder, community leader (born 25 December 1933 at Whitefish Lake, now Big River First Nation, SK; died 24 November 2020 in Prince Albert, SK). Elder Fred Sasakamoose was one of the first Indigenous hockey players from Canada in the National Hockey League (NHL). A former student of St. Michael’s Indian Residential School in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, he played 11 games for the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1953–54 NHL season. After his retirement from competitive hockey in 1961, he dedicated himself to encouraging youth through sports involvement. A Member of the Order of Canada, he was inducted into the Saskatchewan First Nations Sports Hall of Fame, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame, the Prince Albert Hall of Fame, the Canadian Native Hockey Hall of Fame and the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame.

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Gaylord Powless

Gaylord Powless, lacrosse player (born 1 December 1946 in Six Nations of the Grand River, ON; died 28 July 2001 in Ohsweken, ON). Gaylord Powless was a Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk) box lacrosse player who transcended the game to become one of Canada’s most famous athletes. Powless lived most of his life in Six Nations of the Grand River, near Brantford, Ontario. He became the signature player on the Oshawa Green Gaels’ junior lacrosse dynasty of the 1960s and shattered the Ontario junior league scoring record in his sophomore year with the team. The Gaels won the Minto Cup, Canada’s national junior lacrosse championship, in all four years that he played at the junior level. Powless also won the 1971 Mann Cup, which is emblematic of the Canadian senior lacrosse champions, and was a marquee player in three different professional leagues. Powless and his father, Ross, are both members of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame. In 2017, Powless was elected to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. In 2024, Powless was inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame.

Article

Gino Odjick

Wayne “Gino” Odjick, hockey player (born 7 September 1970 in Maniwaki, QC; died 15 January 2023 in Vancouver, BC). One of the most popular players in Vancouver Canucks franchise history, Gino Odjick inspired Indigenous youth across the country. He was a proponent of culturally relevant education for Indigenous children and youth. Odjick was a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, an Algonquin community. He was an enforcer whose willingness to engage in fights on the ice served to protect smaller, more skilled teammates. Odjick skated for four National Hockey League teams over 12 seasons. For most of those teams, he chose to wear hockey sweater no. 29, the same number as was assigned to his father at residential school.

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Notable Indigenous Olympians in Canada

Drawing inspiration from the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, the modern Olympics began in 1896. Like the Olympics, the Paralympic Games take place every two years, alternating between summer and winter sports. Indigenous athletes from Canada have competed at these games and brought home medals. They have represented the country in various sports at the Olympics, from long-distance running to skiing to water sports and more. This article explores some of the most notable Indigenous Olympians from Canada.

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Jimmy Rattlesnake

Jimmy Rattlesnake, baseball player (born 1909 in Hobbema [now Maskwacis], Alberta; died 17 April 1972 in Hobbema). A crafty and durable left-handed pitcher, Jimmy Rattlesnake was one of Canada’s first Indigenous baseball stars. He dominated prize money tournaments in Alberta and Saskatchewan in the 1930s and 1940s. Some reports indicate that he also briefly pitched professionally in the United States. Often compared to African American pitcher Satchel Paige, Rattlesnake was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021.

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Jordin Tootoo

Jordin John Kudluk (Thunder) Tootoo, hockey player (born 2 February, 1983 in Churchill, MB). Jordin Tootoo is the first Inuk hockey player to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Jordin got the attention of the NHL as a tough, talented right-winger in his junior hockey days in Manitoba. In 2003, he received national attention when he played for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship. After playing 13 seasons in the NHL, he retired in 2018. He is known for speaking to youth and maintaining his Inuit culture.

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Mary Spencer

Mary Spencer, boxer, model, humanitarian (born 12 December 1984 in Wiarton, ON). Mary Spencer is one of Canada's premier boxing champions, holding eight national titles, five Pan-American titles, and three world titles. An Ojibwe of the Cape Croker First Nation, Spencer is involved in Motivate Canada’s GEN7 Aboriginal role model initiative, and in 2013 became a mentor with the CIBC Team Next program.

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Reggie Leach

Reginald Joseph Leach, hockey player (born 23 April 1950 in Winnipeg, MB). Known as the “Riverton Rifle,” Ojibwe winger Reggie Leach is considered one of the premier goal scorers of the 1970s and one of the best Indigenous players in National Hockey League (NHL) history. As a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, Leach won the Stanley Cup in 1975. In 1976, he won the league goal-scoring title with 61 goals, adding another 19 in the post-season en route to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Leach is the only non-goaltender to earn that distinction as a member of the Stanley Cup-losing team. Leach played 934 regular season NHL games, scoring 381 goals and 285 assists. He shares all-time league records for most goals scored in a single playoff game (5) and most goals scored in a single post-season (19). He is a member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame, the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame and the Order of Manitoba.

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Shirley and Sharon Firth

Shirley Firth, CM, cross-country skier (born 31 December 1953 in Aklavik, NWT; died 30 April 2013 in Yellowknife, NWT) and Sharon Anne Firth, CM, ONWT, cross-country skier (born 31 December 1953 in Aklavik, NWT). Twin sisters Shirley and Sharon Firth, members of the Gwich’in First Nation, were among the first Indigenous athletes to represent Canada at the Olympics. They were members of the first Canadian women’s Olympic cross-country ski team and competed at four Olympic Winter Games. They were members of the national cross-country ski team for an unprecedented 17 consecutive years. Between them, they won 79 medals at the national championships, including 48 national titles. The first Indigenous women inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, they are Members of the Order of Canada and have been inducted into the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame.

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Tom Longboat

Thomas Charles Longboat (Gagwe:gih), distance runner, Olympian (born 4 July 1886 in Ohsweken, Six Nations of the Grand River; died 9 January 1949 in Ohsweken). Tom Longboat was an Onondaga distance runner from Six Nations of the Grand River. One of the most famous athletes of the early 20th century, Longboat pioneered training methods still used today. He is considered one of the first celebrity athletes in Canada, with his athletic successes known across North America and overseas. He was a leader in establishing marathon running as an international sport and won many marathons in record-breaking times, beating competitors from all over the world. Longboat was the first Indigenous person to win the Boston Marathon (1907). He competed for Canada at the 1908 Olympic Games. He was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.