Journalist braves the bruises of competition for Warrior Games

Though he is closing in on the Big 5-0, Steve Sxwithul’txw has taken participatory sports journalism to a new level.

And even though he incurred some injuries along the way, the 49-year-old Victoria resident, who is a member of Penelakut tribe of the Coast Salish Nation, would be willing to continue broadcasting his sporting ventures.

Sxwithul’txw is the host and producer of Warrior Games, a 13-episode series created for the Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN).

The 30-minute episodes follow Sxwithul’txw to various communities in Canada and the United States. For each episode he explores how Aboriginal youth embrace either a traditional or modern sport. He also trains with local athletes and plays the sport with them.

Warrior Games began airing on APTN this past September. Episodes started being rebroadcast in early December. All episodes can also be seen on the APTN website.

Sxwithul’txw said discussions have not been held on whether to have a second season of the series. But it is something that he would definitely consider.

“There’s definitely enough (activities) out there to have another season,” he said.

Plus, the series was well received.

“It’s an educational show,” he said. “It had a lot of support from across the country.”

Besides having Sxwithul’txw partake in various sports, viewers are also introduced to Aboriginal athletes that are training for local and international competitions.

Sxwithul’txw founded his own company, Kwassen Productions, in 2009 after having worked as a reporter and producer for various television networks.

Having previously worked as a tribal police officer and liquor inspector, Sxwithul’txw decided to take his life in a new direction. He went back to school and obtained a diploma in Broadcast Journalism.

He currently also works as an Aboriginal employment co-ordinator for the Vancouver Island Health Authority.

The Warrior Games idea was hatched three years ago.

“The concept ironically came about as I was working as a second cameraman on another show,” he said.

At the time he was filming a show in Arizona for a series titled Down2Earth. That Indigenous environmental show also aired on APTN.

Sxwithul’txw said that while filming that series another crew member and himself were struck with the idea of doing an Indigenous sports related series.

“That’s when the lightbulb went on,” Sxwithul’txw said. “We said we’ll talk about it more when we get home.”

APTN officials were not sold on the concept initially.

“When we first submitted it to them it was rejected,” Sxwithul’txw said. “They wanted something more in depth, more focus on what the show would be about.”

That rejection, however, did not dissuade Sxwithul’txw from continuing his pursuit to bring the series to fruition.

“We were able to fine-tune it,” he said.

The first episode of the series saw Sxwithul’txw travel to Mississippi to learn about the ancient sport of Stickball.

That would be Stickball, as in the Native American version of the game, which some believe evolved into the sport of lacrosse. This type of Stickball is not to be confused with the sport that has the same name but is a baseball-related street game.

Sxwithul’txw incurred some bumps and bruises playing Stickball.

“It’s a tough game to play,” he said. “And I’m 49 now. The body can only take so much.”

Sxwithul’txw suffered another mishap in a later episode when he travelled to Whistler, B.C. to tackle snowboarding. Members of the First Nations snowboard team provided some lessons for him.

Though he’s an experienced skier, Sxwithul’txw had not been on a snowboard before. And sure enough, one of his pre-show concerns, falling and hurting himself, came true.

“I had this bad fall and cracked some ribs,” he said.

A series highlight for Sxwithul’txw was when he travelled to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. There he was able to witness and take part in an annual community event, the Metis Voyageur Games.

“I really liked the Metis games,” he said. “That was one of my personal favourites. It had a variety of games.”

Other episodes saw Sxwithul’txw learn about war canoe racing, lacrosse, hoop dancing and Arctic Games.

During the episodes of Warrior Games Sxwithul’txw also talked to various Elders, who discuss both the cultural and historical significances of the sport.

Though 13 half-hour episodes were made for the season, Sxwithul’txw said it took a considerable amount of time to make them all.

“Everything was done over a period of one-and-a-half years,” he said. “We started in 2012 and finished up early this year.”