For hundreds of Indigenous youth, a Western outreach program offers an atmosphere of mentorship and encouragement
Alicia Kewageshig watches kids racing, leaping, vaulting and shot-putting at the Western Indigenous Track and Field Day and she smiles.
“I never got to experience anything like this, so it makes me really happy to see Indigenous youth here,” says Kewageshig, a fourth-year student in kinesiology and Indigenous studies and a volunteer at the event. “Some kids looked a bit shy or nervous about trying new sports, but after they did, I could see how excited they were. It’s a real confidence builder.”
Indigenous Track and Field Day began 20 years ago as an outreach program that offers students from First Nations in Southwestern Ontario a unique opportunity to test and develop their athletic skills. The annual collaboration between the Indigenous Student Centre and the Western Mustangs varsity track and field team introduces the elementary students to pole vaulting, high jump and other events.
Support and encouragement is at the heart of all the athletic activities, says Kelly Nicholas, a staff member in Western’s Indigenous Student Centre who’s been involved with the event since its inception.
“Track and Field Day has built a wide bridge of awareness between Indigenous communities and Western,” she says. “As Indigenous people, we say that this type of energy—the atmosphere of cooperation, mentorship and encouragement—is good medicine. When there’s conversation and connection between the athletes and the kids, it creates positive feelings, and that’s good medicine, too.”
Varsity student-athletes help youth participants feel at ease by demonstrating proper techniques for each event and supervising to ensure safe participation. They also motivate students to embrace the challenge, sometimes even engaging them in friendly competition. Nicholas says the supportive environment fosters camaraderie among all participants. Hundreds of Indigenous students in Grades 6, 7 and 8 have participated since 2005.
Toni Sands, BA’00, a teacher at Standing Stone School in Oneida Nation of the Thames, has attended with his students every year since Indigenous Track and Field Day began.
“The warm welcome from staff at the Indigenous Student Centre and campus partners, coupled with the high energy of the Mustangs track athletes, creates an exhilarating atmosphere for our youth,” he says.
The programming opens doors of opportunity. “For a lot of these students, Western is a world away. Creating these early vital connections can make it their reality one day,” Sands says.
Outreach events can make a big difference for young First Nations students exploring possibilities for their future paths.
Holly Peters from Walpole Island First Nation attended Indigenous Track and Field Day in 2016. Now in her third year at Western, she’s pursuing a double major in Indigenous studies and gender and women’s studies.
“At first, I was uncomfortable doing sports I hadn’t tried before in front of everyone there. The experience made me realize that when I challenge my own anxieties, I don’t have to stay uncomfortable,” she says.
Nicholas has seen how the young participants grow as they learn. “Many of these students are facing their fears. They may not have ever tried jumping over a high bar or pole-vaulting onto a landing mat, but they support their classmates and friends together in a no-pressure environment. I love seeing the smiles on their faces.”
The idea for Indigenous Track and Field Day originated with the late Craig Boydell, a Western professor and Mustangs men’s basketball coach, and Vivian Cywink-Peters, former co-ordinator of Indigenous services. The inaugural event in 2005 drew 13 students. This year, a record 172 students registered.
Peters says these outreach programs take meaningful steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, while also supporting the aspirations of young people.
“Our youth can do anything, especially with the right encouragement and support systems. Creating opportunities for them to get involved with post-secondary education at such a young age plants that seed within them to achieve great things.”
