Canada's first Aboriginal Sport Gallery to showcase the contributions of native athletes to the world of sport received an injection of $75,000 from the provincial government on Saturday in Vancouver.
Housed at Vancouver's B.C. Sports Hall of Fame and slated to open in June, the gallery will include photographs, video exhibits, text panels and artifacts that celebrate the achievements of aboriginal athletes.
Alisson Mailer, director of operations with the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame, says that while she knew the aboriginal community had inspiring sport stories to share, the research to date "has exceeded all expectations."
"It is clear that sport was and is an integral part of life for aboriginal peoples throughout the province. The photographs and stories clearly illustrate intense strength and power. We hope this gallery will be a source of pride and inspiration for members of aboriginal communities and all British Columbians."
The first artifact to be placed in the museum is the headdress of one of the most colourful and well-known aboriginal athletes—world champion wrestler and Tsartlip hereditary chief Jean Baptiste Paul, also known as Chief Thunderbird.
A legend in the wrestling world, Chief Thunderbird used to enter the ring to the sound of pounding drums, dressed in full Indian regalia complete with feather headdress and handmade blanket.
A graduate of the University of Tacoma, the Chief held a B.Sc. degree in agriculture and lettered in eight sports: boxing, wrestling, baseball, basketball, track and field, football, soccer and lacrosse.
But wrestling was his forte, and he became famous for his "Saanich Snap," a hold he employed to subdue opponents in the ring, according to the Slam! wrestling website.
Six feet tall and weighing in at 220 lbs., Chief Thunderbird was known around the world, and from his debut in 1933 until his retirement in 1955 he traveled to England, Hawaii, India, New Zealand and Australia.
In more recent times, Canada's national voice for aboriginal sport, the Ontario-based Aboriginal Sport Circle (ASC), is working with VANOC, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Organizing Committee, to use the opportunity the Games provides to encourage more aboriginal people to participate in sport.
Three athletes reflecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis are being featured in a campaign in which 20,000 posters will be distributed to Aboriginal communities and organizations, youth organizations, Friendship Centres and aboriginal schools across the country.
According to its website, VANOC is the first Organizing Committee to integrate indigenous peoples as official partners in the planning and hosting of an Olympics. Along with its partners, VANOC has set a goal of achieving "unprecedented aboriginal participation" in the planning and hosting of the 2010 Winter Games.
The Aboriginal Sport Circle annually recognizes the achievements of gifted Aboriginal athletes by selecting the top male and female athletes from each province/territory for the Tom Longboat Regional Awards.
A member of the Onondaga Nation in Ontario, Longboat was one of Canada's most gifted long distance runners. As early as his third competitive race he set the world marathon record, smashing the previous record by over five and half minutes, according the ASC website.
At a time when indoor marathon running drew sell-out crowds, Longboat was the world's professional champion. At one point or another during his career, he held every Canadian record from one mile to the marathon.
In 1999, Maclean's Magazine voted Longboat the number one Canadian sports figure of the twentieth century. The new Aboriginal Sport Gallery includes a portable sports exhibit designed to reach Aboriginal people who live in isolated and rural communities.
It will also be displayed at the 2008 North American Indigenous Games on Vancouver Island in August, which is expected to attract 6,000 aboriginal athletes from across North America.
At Saturday's opening ceremony, Tewanee Joseph, executive director of Four Host First Nations, said he hoped that young people "can draw inspiration" from the champions showcased in the museum.
"The stories told in this gallery and on tour will motivate and excite our young athletes training for this summer's North American Indigenous Games and inspire them to reach for the top of the podium."
No doubt Chief Thunderbird would agree.
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