Reclaiming Tom Longboat

Indigenous Self-Determination in Canadian Sport

Janice Forsyth

• Publisher: U of R Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780889777286, 9780889777309
• eBook ISBN: 9780889777347
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

Reclaiming Tom Longboat recounts the much-needed history of Indigenous sport in Canada through the lens of the prestigious Tom Longboat Awards, shedding light on a significant yet overlooked aspect of Canadian policy and Crown-Indigenous relations. Drawing on a rich and varied set of oral and textual sources, including interviews with award recipients and Jan Eisenhardt, the creator of the Awards himself, Janice Forsyth critically assesses the state's role in policing Indigenous bodies and identities through sport, from assimilationist sporting regulations in residential schools to the present-day exclusion of Aboriginal activities from mainstream sports. This work recognizes the role of sport as a colonial device, while also acknowledging its potential to become a tool of decolonization and self-determination.

advance praise for

reclaiming tom longboat

“Richly insightful and original, this gem of book will make a big impact—on scholarship, on the thinking of sport policy makers, and on public consciousness. It speaks to so many aspects of Canadian life beyond sport, and makes for fascinating and compelling reading about something that is so important, yet not well known, in Canadian history. …Anyone seeking to understand and/or implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 87–91 regarding Sports and Reconciliation will want to read this book.”

—Nancy Bouchier, For the Love of the Game

“Reclaiming Tom Longboat provides important contributions to the fields of Canadian sport history and Indigenous studies in Canada. Researchers in Canadian sport history have only recently begun to pay serious attention the colonial biases inherent in sport and recreation practices, and this work provides an important alternate view as to how we can understand sport and physical culture as part of our shared history.”

—Robert Kossuth, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Lethbridge

“Reclaiming Tom Longboat weaves the stories of Indigenous athletes, non-Indigenous interest groups, government, and Indigenous political organizations together to provide a fascinating account of an important phase in the ongoing struggle to decolonize Canadian institutions.”

—J.R. Miller, author of Residential Schools and Reconciliation

“A genuine project of reclamation that advances the rebuilding of Indigenous nations and nationhood.”

—Christine O’Bonsawin, Associate Professor, History and Indigenous Studies, University of Victoria

RECLAIMING

TOM LONGBOAT

Indigenous Self-Determination in Canadian Sport

Janice Forsyth

© 2020 Janice Forsyth

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical—without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or placement in information storage and retrieval systems of any sort shall be directed in writing to Access Copyright.

Printed and bound in Canada at Friesens. The text of this book is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with earth-friendly vegetable-based inks.

Cover art: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame | Panthéon des sports canadiens, sportshall.ca | pantheonsports.ca, Object ID: x981.637.1.25

Cover and text design: Duncan Campbell, University of Regina Press

Copy editor: Ryan Perks

Proofreader: Kirsten Craven

Indexer: Jason Begy Indexing

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: Reclaiming Tom Longboat : Indigenous self-determination in Canadian sport / Janice Forsyth.

Names: Forsyth, Janice, author.

Description: Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20200168479 | Canadiana (ebook) 20200168541 | isbn 9780889777286 (softcover) | isbn 9780889777309 (hardcover) | isbn 9780889777323 (pdf) | isbn 9780889777347 (html)

Subjects: lcsh: Indians of North America—Sports—Canada—History. | lcsh: Sports—Social aspects—Canada—History. | lcsh: Sports and state—Canada—History. | csh: Native peoples—Sports—Canada—History.

Classification: lcc e98.g2 f67 2020 | ddc 796.089/97071—dc23

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

University of Regina Press, University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, s4s 0a2
tel: [phone] fax: [phone]
web: www.uofrpress.ca

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. / Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada. This publication was made possible with support from Creative Saskatchewan’s Book Publishing Production Grant Program.

This publication was made possible with the help of a grant from the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

This book is dedicated to my dear friend Jan Eisenhardt (1906–2004) and to all my fellow recipients of a Tom Longboat Award.

Contents

Foreword by Willie Littlechild

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Remembering Tom Longboat

Chapter 1: Cultivating Civilized Habits: Sport and Assimilation

Chapter 2: Establishing the Tom Longboat Awards, 1951–72

Chapter 3: From Assimilation to Self-Determination, 1973–98

Chapter 4: The Struggle for Meaningful Inclusion, 1999–2001

Chapter 5: Telling Our Stories: Challenging Dominant Views

Conclusion: Truth, Reconciliation, and Sport

Notes on Archival Sources

Bibliography

Notes

Foreword

by Willie Littlechild

My name is Wilton ‘Willie’ Littlechild. I was born in 1944 and raised by my grandparents on the Ermineskin Cree First Nation at Maskwacîs in Alberta.

I was first awarded the regional Tom Longboat Award in 1965, and then won the national award in 1967. This was followed by another national award in 1974 and a regional award in 1975. Receiving the award is the most incredible honour: it is the highest recognition an athlete can receive in Canada. The first time I won, I was very embarrassed at the ceremony when media asked me, So who was Tom Longboat?, and I didn’t know. So I began searching through old newspapers during his era and was surprised to find so many articles; the significance of winning the trophy became more meaningful to me the more I learned. Tom Longboat—Cogwagee—was such an outstanding athlete, an Olympian who contributed so much to the development of amateur sports in Canada. I needed to know more.

I traveled to his community at Six Nations, met family members, and visited his grave site to thank his spirit for his motivation and positive impact on my life. This experience was a lifetime influence that changed me; from then on, I wanted to work harder than ever to pursue excellence in school, sports, and later, work.

In the future, I hope to see the Tom Longboat Award given the same status and recognition as the other major sports awards in Canada. With this increase in profile for the award, my dream is that many more Indigenous children and youth will be motivated, as I was, to pursue sport and seek balance and excellence in life. I would like also to see a scholarship and/or bursary program(s) attached to the award to assist honourees in pursuing high-level training, competitions, and educational opportunities. Further, nominees for the Tom Longboat Award need to be promoted and introduced to elite teams and post-secondary institutions so as to encourage their continued athletic participation and educational pursuits.

In fact, Canadians, sport organizations, and all levels of government must create space and be truly inclusive in every way so that Indigenous athletes, officials, administrators, communities, and supporters have equal opportunities to devel...

Table of contents

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