Sports system works against Aboriginal athletes

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There is a growing realization that sport and recreation plays an integral role in community development. Up until recently, we all knew that effective sport and recreation programming in communities was the answer to a whole range of social problems. Because we knew that, there was no need to pursue the matter any further. So let the sport and recreation professionals in the various communities deal with developing, implementing and maintaining effective sport and recreation programming. End of story.

Not so fast. Been there done that. Doesn't work. As is the case in many other instances, the powers that be (usually the non-Native government) figure that if a community hires a qualified individual-one who has graduated from one of their many colleges and/or universities from across Canada-the community is well on its way to, at least, improving its sport and recreation programs and services.

This kind of Band-Aid solution will almost always fail. What the non-Aboriginal governments tend to forget, time and time again, is that what works for them doesn't necessarily work for the Aboriginal community. Sure, so our community just hired a recent grad from the university, but what did that individual learn about the Aboriginal culture in his or her four years of sport and recreation theory?

I am willing to bet that he or she didn't learn a single thing about what life is like in an Aboriginal community. I am willing to bet that by spending a few hours in a class on delivering sport and recreation programs to "special populations" they feel that they can work in any environment. I am willing to bet that they are going to be totally clueless as to why Aboriginal children don't show up for a sport and recreation program that they designed especially for them on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. I am willing to bet that they soon realize that their nice shiny sport and recreation graduation certificate taught them nothing about how to develop effective sport and recreation programming in Aboriginal communities.

For many years the sport and recreation system in Canada has been structured around a system that favors the non-Aboriginal approach to sport and recreation, a system that is based on competition, a system that is results-oriented, a system that caters to the elite athlete concept. Traditionally, when the Aboriginal community participated in sport and recreation activities, the focus was participation. It didn't matter who won or who lost. For the most part, that aspect of our culture still exists today.

We all know, or knew, of a pure, natural hockey player, basketball player or a volleyball player that could have gone on to bigger and better things, but, because the system is not our system, often they ended up quitting at some point. Those who do excel do so not because of the system, but in spite of the system.

So what's the answer? In the short term, we do our part as communities to work with those sport and recreation people already in our communities. We respect their education, but at the same time we demand that they respect our culture and traditions. This means not suspending or cutting our young athletes who so badly want to play, but because of a home life, miss their third practice in two weeks and, because of that, get kicked off the team. Meanwhile the teacher's kids, who may not be half as good as our young athletes, remain on the team because they haven't missed a practice and who have parents who can afford to pay for their uniforms and registration fees and who drive them to practice every morning.

The system must reflect the demographics and the respective values of all members of the community.

In the long term, we promote sport and recreation as playing a key role in the development of our communities. For those young people who wish to pursue a career in sport and recreation, we as a community must do all we can to support them as they go off to school. After all, if you're gonna run sport an recreation programming in our communities, let's have our own run them and not some fresh-faced grad who means well, but is disillusioned by theories and practices he or she learned from a text book, most likely written by a non-Native, taught by a non-Native, in a non-Native school.

Sport and recreation must also include traditional activities. Some provincial governments recognize this distinction and have done something about it. Saskatchewan, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have officially included culture as being part of sport and recreation. Another step could be to have the universities and colleges incorporate into their sport and recreation programs a discipline that would allow students to learn about theories and practices of sport and recreation but from an Aboriginal perspective.

The University of Alberta's bachelor of arts in recreation and leisure studies is one such program that allows students to "individualize" their programs to meet their needs. As far as I know, this is the only such program that allows students to do this. By incorporating the Aboriginal perspective into sport and recreation theory and practice, steps are being taken towards developing a sport and recreation system that reflects the people it serves.

We as Aboriginal people are natural athletes. We all know someone who is athletic. We are the same people we were a thousand years ago, but back then it was necessary to be athletic in order to survive. Even when we celebrated, we danced. Dancing for us is cultural and spiritual. For us sport and recreation is physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.