High kick, leg wrestling and caribou carry were all part of a day of fun competition at this year’s school district Indigenous Games.
About 300 students from across Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools met at John Barsby Secondary School on Thursday, May 8, to participate in events that promoted Indigenous culture from Canada’s northern regions as well as Coast Salish territory.
“What we’re trying to do is revitalize the games,” said Jacob Thom, Indigenous education support teacher at John Barsby. “Formerly it was called the Northern Games and this is the first year that we’ve re-branded it as the Indigenous Games. The reason for that is we wanted to get some Coast Salish representation in the games … we wanted to get some representation for Nanaimo and the Coast Salish people.”
Thom said the games have been run for 15 years in Nanaimo and the re-branding was to help build a sense of community and to “give students and staff a chance to come together and have a good time” by participating in the games. This is the first year the games have been run since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thom estimated John Barsby’s Indigenous students make up about 40 per cent of the student enrolment.
Every high school in SD68, as well as Island ConnectED and Learning Alternatives, was invitied to participate and, while the emphasis was on having Indigenous participants, the games were open to all students.
Gina Seward-Wilson, Yutustana:t, of the Snuneymuxw First Nation and Hul'q'umi'num' language teacher with the school district, talked about Coast Salish games being introduced to the Indigenous Games. One of the new games is lahal, a game she said is played by First Nations people in Canada and the U.S., sometimes in huge, noisy gatherings where game play can go all night and into the next morning.
“Lahal originated with our ancestors and they used animal bones, but of course, when you get through the colonization, we have our own sticks now,” Seward-Wilson said. “You can call it the stick game, some people call it bone game, some people call it lahal, but it’s really a game that our people used instead of fighting wars. It’s a guessing game and it teaches you patience, using our traditional songs … You can really get the guys going. You’re moving your hands, you’re trying to get them off their game, so it really takes patience for this game.”
Seward-Wilson said bringing people together for the games teaches them about history, culture and identity through First Nations values.
“That’s how our people were,” she said. “When you bring in everybody else, you’re also teaching them how to live in this world without going into war. I think we really need that right now, right?”
Thom said in previous years there were prizes connected with the various events, but this year students competed only for bragging rights.
“Our whole purpose is to build community, have a good time and then give students the opportunity to see some different games and participate in them too,” Thom said.
