A look back at stories of the Indigenous Games
CBC News | Posted: July 23, 2017 9:00 AM | Last Updated: July 23, 2017
From embracing ancient tradition to fighting for issues of today: Here's a round-up of the week's highlights
At venues across Toronto this week, young athletes at the North American Indigenous Games battled it out for medals, each bringing with them hopes, goals, and dreams.
CBC Toronto was able to tell some of those stories: tales of triumph over tragedy, determined treks from fly-in communities and young people who want to share their cultures with the wider world.
In case you missed it, here's a roundup of our local coverage.
Big-hearted locals give to Games
With just a month until the Games began, organizers were calling out for help: they were short hundreds of volunteers.
But volunteer lead Khristine Crooks Lines said locals came valiantly to the rescue in time for the opening ceremony, helping to chaperone, time events and keep score throughout the week.
CBC Toronto spoke with volunteer Liza Parry for this story, a Mi'kmaq triathlete proud to offer her time to the Games' young athletes.
Young artists tapped to perform for thousands
The Games' opening ceremony turned out to be a big deal.
With 9,000 in attendance at Toronto's Aviva Centre and surprise appearances by A Tribe Called Red and rapper Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, all eyes were on stage.
And so were six young dancers — none of whom had ever seen such a crowd.
It took practice and discipline to build the dance performance from scratch, as CBC Toronto learned for this story:
But for the dancers, it's not just about art. Two of these performers talked about role models and reconciliation:
Fighting ignorance...with fiddles
The Métis Fiddler Quartet serenaded the opening ceremony crowd with traditional songs. By day, quartet vocalist Conlin Delbaere-Sawchuk takes his knowledge to Toronto schools, passing on his knowledge to budding creatives.
At a concert at St. Bernard's Catholic School, students presented the Métis songs they wrote themselves:
Sport keeps cultures alive
Ben Fleguel, an Anishnaabeg archer, learned to shoot because he wanted to hunt the way his ancestors did.
Evan John, an Oneida track athlete and lacrosse player, wants to save the Oneida language in his spare time -- and he has to become fluent, fast.
Welcome to Tkaronto
Indigenous custom welcomes guests into their territory by nodding to the land on which they live, work and play.
Experts explain the tradition of territory acknowledgements:
Games beckon young adventurers
Lavonne Kakegamic, 11, and Cherilynn Moose, 12, live in North Spirit Lake First Nation — a remote community where they know everybody by name. They'd never seen a skyscraper or been to a mall.
But when they heard about the Games, the gregarious pair were determined to make their way to the bleachers in the big city to cheer on Team Ontario.
CBC Toronto experienced the city with these intrepid explorers:
Sisters champion Indigenous rights
Renee and Alicia Corbiere started swimming after their father drowned in rough water.
Now they're champions both in and out of the pool.
Indigenous people drown at a rate ten times higher than the national average, and these athletes think training swim instructors for Indigenous communities is desperately needed:
For all the week's highlights of athletes across the country, visit cbc.ca/naig.