Aboriginal Athletes Essay

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Aboriginal Athletes in the World of Professional Sports

Terrence and Jordin Tootoo grew up in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, in Canada’s arctic region. They were like other Inuit children in Rankin Inlet in many respects: They were brought up to respect the customs of their people and they enjoyed the resources the land around them provided- they learned to hunt and fish for food like the others. However, the brothers were also different from their peers in one main respect- they were blessed with a love for the game of hockey, and also with extraordinary amounts of talent which would enable them to leave their native community to pursue the dream of professional hockey. While the brothers were growing up they were inseparable; however, after leaving …show more content…

In 1999 the Canadian government offered Native Canadians an official apology for racially motivated abuse inflicted during the era of government-run Native boarding schools. The Canadian government offered $350 million towards counseling for healing the abuse that was started at these schools. It was soon discovered that counseling, supplemented by organized sports programs, was the most effective way to turn around the high suicide and depression-related health and alcohol challenges among Native youth (www.aboriginalsportcircle.com). The Canadian government continues to fund the First Nations Sports Programs. The United States Bureau of Indian Affairs quietly offered a similar apology in 2000, but has yet to offer any financial compensation. More recently sport has played a significant role in helping young Native Americans gain access to college via scholarship. In December of 2003 the National Congress of American Indians announced that the 2nd annual Native American Basketball Invitational tournament will be held in July 2004 at America West Arena, home of the Phoenix Suns. The tournament features teams of Native American high school student-athletes, male and female, allowing them an exclusive stage before college scouts. NABI 2003, which was played last July, created opportunities for four Native American students to receive college athletic scholarships (www.nays.com). In addition, the event gave Tribal leaders the opportunity to expand contact with local and national business

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