National sport conference draws big names

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"Planning, focus, dedication and commitment," is what makes a champion. That was the message of Angela Chalmers to more than 400 delegates at the Sept. 1 to 3 National Sports, Culture and Recreation Conference at Saskatoon's Ramada Inn.

Chalmers, an Olympic bronze medalist and Commonwealth gold medalist in middle distance running should know. She's been there. So have a number of other speakers who offered stories of their own experiences during the three-day conference.

The conference, a joint initiative of the Saskatoon Tribal Council and the Assembly of First Nations was meant to "promote positive lifestyles" and to address "elite athletic development," especially that which goes beyond local and provincial competition.

In this, its first year, said conference organizer Eugene Arcand, they sought out "heroes" and "role models" of Aboriginal ancestry who could share their stories of what it took and how they achieved their objectives.

It was the first time around for the sport conference whose resource list reads like a who's who in Aboriginal sports.

There was the legendary Fred Sasakamoose, the first Indian in the NHL, and Blair Atcheynum who played for the St. Louis Blues and is now with the Nashville Predators.

"Believing in myself was important," said Atcheynum who added, "my family was always there for me." Playing on the same team with "hockey greats" like Brett Hull and Grant Fuhr and "to actually sit in the dressing room with them was a dream come true," he concluded.

Then too, there was Cory Witherill, a Navajo Indycar racing champion, Canadian boxing champion Willard Lewis, wrestler Albert Doxtator, Rochester Nighthawks lacrosse player Derek General, Vancouver Canucks scout Ron Delorme, hockey coach/official Paul Williams, NHL Florida Panthers draftee Joey Tetarenko, pro golfer Delmar Jones, national volleyball coach Colleen Venne, and world powwow champions Kevin Heywehe and Rod Atcheynum.

In almost each and every case, the speakers alluded to how important it was to them to have the support of families and/or communities. It was the one common thread that linked nearly all the conference presenters.

Perry Bellegarde, chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, told the audience of about 400 that, "for young Indian people to see role models is very powerful."

The corporate sector realizes the value of First Nations, said Myles Heidt, a city councillor. "The talk about town 25 years ago, was the shot Fred Sasakamoose had [in the NHL]."

However, according to Sasakamoose, things were not so easy back then in the Fifties. "We were poor. . . it was difficult, tough in that different world . . . I was in patches, worked hard . . . was lonesome."

The conference also had the services of Sherry Bassin who managed the Canadian Jr. World and Memorial Cup championship teams, as well as Garnet Ace who works in player development for the those wanting to break into the NHL.

Bassin said he "looks for small town kids (for hockey) because they have good values." Apart from the individual abilities that athletes have, "a true athlete should have character," he stated. "I met a lot of athletes with a lot of ability and wish they had more character. I wish there were more with both." He said he's also seen many on the street who show ability, "but have no will. Many are victims of conditions."

Opportunity is another asset and during the conference, Willard Lewis received a call from boxing officianado Lou Duva who manages Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. He asked if Lewis wanted to attend his training camp. Needless to say, that created quite a buzz.

For many, it was an honor just to be there and they flocked by the dozens to have photographs taken or to secure an autograph. Sasakamoose, Chalmers and Lewis were the most sought-after in this respect.

The chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, played hockey as a youth and was on hand Sept. 2 to present a number of natioal awards at theevening banquet.

The Tom Longboat Award went to a Metis engineering student, Dan Calhoun and the Tommy Prince Award to Jacqueline Pelletier in Native Studies. Both attend the University of Alberta.

A Queen's University law student, Dawn Dumont, received the James Gosnell Award, and Joe Heila, Trent University student in Economics/Native Studies, was bestowed the Jack Fire Award.

The Omer Peters Award went to Legal Studies student Sophie Sliwa at Carlton University while Richard Nolan, a student in human services at Lake Superior State College, was recipient of the Walter Dieter Award.

The one remaining award, the Robert Smallboy Award, went to Lisa Monkman, a University of Manitoba Pre-Medical student.

The final highlight of the evening was a live auction which saw some serious bidding wars including one between Chief Perry Bellegarde and National Chief Phil Fontaine. That battled raged over a rare Fred Sasakamoose rookie hockey card which ultimately went to Bellegarde for a cool $2,200! Apparently, it is estimated there are "only about 50 of them in circulation," explained Eugene Arcand.