By Sam Cortes, Communications Coordinator
It’s National Indigenous History Month, and there’s so many Indigenous peoples in sport to celebrate across the country. We thought we’d take a look at an organization here in Manitoba who plays a major role in supporting and empowering local Indigenous communities and individuals, including athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers, to grow physically, mentally, spiritually, and culturally through sport and physical activity.
They are the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council (MASRC). A non-profit that has been making an impact through their programs, events, and initiatives for over 30 years, they also share incredible stories and resources that will inspire Indigenous youth for generations to come.
Where You’ve Seen the MASRC
You may know the MASRC from Team Manitoba at the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG), the largest multi-sport and cultural event hosted in Canada and US that is specifically targeted for Indigenous populations.
“That’s something where we take 500 athletes and coaches from Manitoba and go compete against the other regions of North America. Every province, territory, [and] state come to the games,” said Mel Whitesell, Executive Director of the MASRC.
Postponed in 2020 due to COVID-19, Mel said they will be announcing new dates for NAIG soon.
The MASRC also runs the National Aboriginal Hockey Championship teams for Manitoba, an urban bike program, a coach support program, and the Aboriginal Coaching Module program.
The urban bike program was particularly busy this year. If kids have moved to the city and need transportation to get to school, the MASRC can help.
“Once a year, we have a program where they can apply for a new bike. We just did that last week and I think we had almost 400 applications for 150 bikes.”
But it’s not just bikes. The MASRC Sport Bank receives a minimum of around $500,000 of recycled equipment a year.
“People donate to us, and we get it out to the kids. A lot of stuff is brand new. Organizations will just come with a truck loaded with stuff and drop it off.”
Celebrating Indigenous Heritage, Culture and Achievements
June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day, a day to recognize and celebrate First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples across our country.
And this year’s MASRC recognition awards did just that, honouring outstanding Indigenous Manitobans in sport.
Because COVID-19 put sport largely on pause this year, they recognized athletes, coaches, and volunteers for their accomplishments over the last 10 years through their Decade Awards.
Check out these videos on each of the 2021 winners:
- Jocelyne Larocque – Manitoba Indigenous Female Athlete of the Decade
- Zach Whitecloud – Manitoba Indigenous Male Athlete of the Decade
- Dale Bear – Manitoba Indigenous Male Coach of the Decade
- Jayme Menzies – Manitoba Indigenous Female Coach of the Decade
- Jacinta Bear – Manitoba Indigenous Female Volunteer of the Decade
- Faron Asham – Manitoba Indigenous Male Volunteer of the Decade
There’s also an exciting new book you can read this Fall. Written by Game On’s Scott Taylor and MASRC’s Carriera Lamoureaux, Mel said sharing these stories is significant for young Indigenous athletes.
“It’s just really important that the youth have something to aspire to,” said Mel. “Because if you don’t see yourself in the athletes and the coaches, you don’t know that it’s even possible. So I think having a lot of young hockey players see Jocelyne Larocque and Brigette Lacquette, they’re going ‘Wow, we have a Métis and First Nations person on Team Canada’. So I think that has made a lot of kids really striving to do that now. Because it’s like, ‘Wow, if they can do it, I can do it.’”
You can pre-order your book today by contacting Carriera at masrcexcellencebook@gmail.com.
Follow the MASRC
The MASRC is active all year long. Stay informed on all the latest and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!
“Our staff are here to work with Indigenous organizations, communities, [and] people if they have any questions about sport, recreation, [and] activity,” said Mel. “If they need anything from the warehouse, just feel free to call us, email us, [or] text us. Don’t be afraid to come down, we’re here to be a resource for everybody.”
