National Aboriginal Hockey Championships Logo (Photo Submitted)
Next month, The National Aboriginal Hockey Championships will be hosted in Grande Prairie.
This is the first time the event will be held in Alberta on the Traditional Territory of Treaty 8, and will see male and female First Nation, Inuit and Metis athletes from across the country compete. The championships will take place between May 5 – 11 at the Design Works Centre.
Windspeaker Radio Network spoke with Katie Biberdorf, the Chair for the 2024 National Aboriginal Hockey Championship as she says it’s very exciting for the City of Grande Prairie to be the host of the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships, a first time ever for the games to be held in Alberta on Treaty 8 Territory.
Biberdorf says that the City of Grande Prairie recently passed the Indigenous Relations Framework in accordance to the Truth and Reconciliation calls to action which includes to host sporting events such as the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships, and adds that it allows the city to add Indigenous components to the event, such as workshops, Olympians attending the event. Adding the importance of the youth within the community to attend to show them where they can go with sport.
Biberdorf speaks on the importance of inspiration that NHL athletes such as past athletes and former NHL’er Jordin Tootoo, Michael Ferland, Brady Keeper, Golden Knights Zach Whitecloud, Brandon Montour and Washington Capitals defenseman Ethan Bear, as well as Canadian women’s Olympic team players Brigette Lacquette, Jocelyne Larocque and Jamie Lee Rattray are inspirations to many Indigenous athletes who will be competing in this years event.
Biberdorf speaks on this years logo was designed by Ashlyn Maltais, a Métis Video Editor and Graphic Designer from Peace River. The logo is based off the colors in a traditional medicine wheel. It includes the wolf in Inuit style art, the eagle in Ojibway style art, the bear in Haida style art, and the buffalo in Blackfoot style art. The flower in the middle incorporates a representation of our provincial flower; the wild rose in Metis dot art. With the Hockey sticks tying it all together, this logo represents the different backgrounds and elements of Alberta and how we are all connected.
Biberdorf says she hopes that the community within Grande Prairie comes out to get exposed to the Indigenous Culture by participating in the activities held in the event and cheering on in the crowds during the Championship Games.
City of Grande Prairie Indigenous Relations Warren Nekurak speaks from personal experiences of how the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships positively impact the Indigenous youth.
For more details on the 2024 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships, click here.
Comments