Cree Nation Summer Games making a comeback

The Cree Nation Summer Games — a regional, multi-sport competition last seen in northern Quebec in the early 2010s — is making a comeback in 2024.

The games will be held in Mistissini and include track and field athletics, strong man competitions and team sports. There will also be an emphasis on Cree cultural sports, such as portage, leg wrestling and the foxtrot, a traditional tug of war-like contest between two people.

"Having something like [the games] for our youth, it'd be essential for their health, their well-being and also to bring people back together following a pandemic," said Adrian N. Gunner, who is the current Cree Nation Youth Grand Chief. 

Held sporadically since the 1970s, there have been several attempts to revive the Cree Nation Summer Games over the years. Inconsistent funding made it difficult to host the event bi-annually as planned, according to Charles J. Hester, the president of the Eeyou Istchee Sports and Recreation Association.

Organizers say they are working hard to secure block funding to ensure the continuity of games moving forward. 

"We want to offer the support from the regional level to ensure that there's funding in place for those games beyond 2024," said Hester. 

Organizers also have ideas to host future Cree Nation Winter Games.

Highlighting traditional sports like the portage, canoe races or foxtrot, as main events is also important, according to Hester. 

"It could be the portage. This is the main event of these games, because we tried to highlight the traditional games instead of highlighting the regular games that we already play, like hockey, basketball and volleyball," said Hester.   

Organizers also created a standard set of rules around some of the cultural sports, back in the early 2010s. 

"We want to make sure everybody is in the same boat. So there is a technical package for all the games and the traditional games," said Hester. 

Eugene Neeposh is a hockey and softball coach from Mistissini. He understands how sports, especially in the summer, are a good outlet for youth to stay out of trouble and build good self confidence.

"Sports for kids, every time [they] hear people screaming, cheering [them] on, [they] get this adrenaline," said Neeposh. 

The excitement from sports is almost the same type of adrenaline one can get from getting into trouble, such as vandalism or breaking and entering, said Neeposh. 

"This is why it's really important to have sports ... sports replace those kind of things," said Neeposh. 

Stacy Anderson is a volunteer girls basketball coach. She wants to give girls ages 13-17 a safe space to enjoy extracurricular activities.  She is also a former Cree Nation Summer Games athlete. 

"It's very important to have sports accessible to all youth and to make it not so much as a luxury, but make it so that everyone has access to it because it does teach them a lot of things," said Anderson. 

Anderson says she believes sports builds teamwork skills in youth. 

"When you play sports, you use everyone's strength to achieve that common goal," she said. 

Youth Grand Chief Gunner was also an athlete back at the 2011 Cree Nation Summer Games in Mistissini.

Gunner said his time as an athlete helped him succeed in his ambitions later in life. He said training for 5 kilometre races, short distance sprints and leg wrestling helped keep him in shape back then.

"I loved it. I became friends with a lot of people and they are still people that I know today from the games ... it gave me a sense of pride and joy," said Gunner adding that people are really excited the games are coming back.   

The steering committee for the games is in the early stages of planning and wants to make a few changes like renewing the logo, having nightly live entertainment and keeping the games consistent every two years.

They aim to host 600 to 800 athletes and the next Cree Nation Summer Games in Mistissini next year. They also plan on introducing adult categories for people ages 18 and up to help the population stay healthy, play and compete. 

"I want them to have a sense of community," said Gunner. 

That's very important [that] we have friendly competition," he said. "And to have a sense of pride in their culture."