Indigenous girls golf camp tells girls they belong in the sport

A free winter golf camp for Indigenous girls in Edmonton turned out to be such a hit that organizers hope to see it spread across the country. 

The First Nations Health Consortium (FNHC), which supports Indigenous people in Alberta with applications for funding through Jordan's Principle, held the event in Edmonton last weekend after a successful summer golf camp in 2024. Another golf camp is planned for girls in Calgary on Feb. 23.

Organizers had hoped to get 15 girls between the ages of seven and 18 to register, but quickly had to change plans when high numbers of people trying to register crashed the website. After 160 applications in 45 minutes, organizers accepted 32 girls to the Edmonton camp. 

Stephanie Cyprien, who is Dene, was one of the lucky registrants who managed to snag a spot in Edmonton. Her parents were on separate devices trying to register her in the program, according to her father Jason Cyprien. 

The family travelled five hours to the event from Fort McMurray, Alta., so the teenager could learn from the professionals and college-level athletes and coaches at the event. 

"Everyone was so nice," Stephanie Cyprien said, adding it was worth the long drive. 

"For her to be along with other nations is a great thing. [It's] also just great to be included," her father said. 

Other avid golfers were also at the event. 

Brinley Rosychuk, who is Cree, started golfing almost two years ago when she was just 10 and took part in both the summer and winter golf camps. 

Her advice to beginners: "Keep your eye on the ball," she said. 

Tips like that came in handy for newbies like Folasade Akinbobole from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation.

Akinbobole, 12, said she learned how to fix her form by bending her knees more, to aim the ball properly. 

But she also said she felt the sport was about more than just technique. 

"I think that it can open up a lot of opportunities for me," Akinbobole said.

That sentiment was one of the main factors motivating organizer Lannie Houle, who is from Goodfish Lake (of the Whitefish Lake First Nation) and Vernon, B.C. 

"Golf is a sport that's very elitist because it's a very expensive sport," said Houle, adding there often isn't much diversity on the course.

"That's why we want the girls to work on their confidence and their leadership, so they feel like they really belong there."

Incorporating the design of ribbon skirts — girls in the summer camp were provided skirts while the winter camp participants were given sweatshirts with a golfer wearing one — also creates a sense of belonging and sisterhood, Houle said.

She added that having an Indigenous girls-only program makes it more comfortable to try something new. 

"They can be their rezzie selves," she said. 

Event instructor Destiny Whitney echoed that thought. 

"It's being comfortable in these types of facilities, being around young girls who are out pursuing the same thing," said Whitney, who is from the Tsuut'ina Nation. 

"They get to own who they are. They get to own their abilities, their skills, and be here like everyone else." 

Whitney, who operates her own multi-sport facility in southern Alberta, is a Class A LPGA professional and says she's eager to be able to share her knowledge of the LPGA with other Indigenous golfers and to mentor them as they pursue their goals. 

"We have to be comfortable in these environments. Where are our girls? Why aren't they in the LPGA? Why aren't they on college teams or universities or all those things? It needs to start now and we're going to do it," she said. 

In addition to encouraging girls, Whitney was at the event teaching proper putting technique, and Cyprien said it helped her get a hole in one.

"I learned [to] just keep my shoulders straight and [the ball] would go straight where I wanted it to go," she said.