Next games to be held south of the border

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Buffalo, N. Y. will be the host city for the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in 2005. The NAIG council made that announcement Dec. 13, 2002 in Saskatoon.

Harold Joseph, NAIG council president, said the site was chosen through a process of elimination between Santa Fe, N. M., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Kamloops, B.C. Although these games were scheduled to take place in the U.S., the council decided to let Kamloops take part in the bidding process just in case the cities in the U.S. did not qualify by meeting all the criteria.

"At the meeting, New York ended up being the one that met the criteria, and one of the criteria was for New York to have a $1 million-backing in the bank by that meeting and they came up with that so that was one of the criteria for them getting the games," he said.

Another important factor was the availability of sport venues for the athletes, and Joseph was pleased with the site after he and members of the council viewed the location at the expense of the host city in September last year. The group spent four days in Buffalo and went to all the venues where the games were to be held. They toured the housing locations, spoke to security, met with the Aboriginal tribal group backing the games in the state of New York, as well as the mayor and government officials.

"We got to see hands-on how the city of Buffalo would be eligible to host the games. They have some really nice venues and things like that and they are capable of handling 6,000-plus athletes," Joseph said.

"I think that because of the infrastructure that Buffalo has to offer, the location will be well received," said Guy Patterson, president of the Buffalo Sports Society. "People will have an opportunity to see that the facilities are world class. The university campus where the games are held is so compact that there won't be a lot of traveling time involved at the games.

"One of the components that we are really pushing for is the cultural component, as it relates to the games. I think that once the people come and see the centre for the performing arts, which is going to house the culture village as well, the turning point will be when they see that the sporting events and the cultural component are all in one campus. That is kind of a unique situation that we are looking forward to using to the maximum."

Patterson noted that the 2005 games will be the 15th anniversary of the games, so that will provide an opportunity to showcase the Aboriginal cultures that exist within the 48 states.

"What we want to do is ask all the territories to participate and compliment the cultural component, as equal as the Iroquois Confederacy who will be the host, so that when everybody comes together then there is an opportunity to showcase the universal traits that line us together. We want to communicate that through the cultural village and through the opening ceremonies."

Joseph estimates that these games will draw a large crowd with a lot of cultural activities for the teams.

"I think all the people in the U.S. are looking forward to going to Buffalo, N.Y. I think that it will be great. The teams will also have their own booths during the games. It will give them a chance to raise money selling their teams' T-shirts, jackets and uniforms," he said.

With security being tight at border crossings, Joseph said there are a few things that athletes and coaches must look after before entering the U.S.

"Their costumes and stuff for dance and everything like that is what they will need to take care of, so that once they come to the U.S. and go back into Canada they will be able to bring their stuff back home. Making those kinds of arrangements way in advance is probably going to be the best thing to do," he said.

Joseph believes that this may be a once in a lifetime chance for a lot of people to go there, so he suggests that the participants bring a little extra money if they want to do a bit of sightseeing.

"New York is a popula site. They are going to have a few tours for everyone to go on, so bring the family and enjoy the Niagara Falls area and go into the city," he said.

Bids for the 2008 games will go out in August.