Indigenous Youth Day strengthens community through hockey

This Sunday, October 20th, marks the fourth year for the annual North Bay Battalion Indigenous Youth Day. The event highlights the achievements of Indigenous hockey greats and provides a fun day out for kids.

“We want to get everyone together in a good way,” explained one of the organisers, George Couchie, “and that’s why we do this.”

Couchie operates Redtail Hawk Training and Consulting and is a driving force behind Indigenous Youth Day. He explained how since the beginning, he and others have reached out to local businesses – usually those owned by Indigenous folks – to buy game tickets for the local youth.

This year, 1,200 tickets were donated for Sunday’s Battalion game against the Sudbury Wolves. Interested youth sign up for a ticket, and Couchie has those delivered to the schools, who then dole them out. Tickets are also given to the Indigenous Friendship Centre to hand out as well.

It makes for a great day for the kids, and it’s free for them to catch a game. It’s also a way to build community, as youth from Bear Island, Dokis First Nation, Kebaowek First Nation, Nipissing First Nation, and Wolf Lake First Nation, are all welcome.

Plus, the event is a way to highlight some First Nation greats of the game, which also inspires the youth to greater heights. Players like Dan Frawley, who started on the Sudbury Wolves and made his way to the NHL as a Blackhawk.

Frawley will attend this Sunday’s game, as will David Avery, and Mike Penasse. The Nbissiing Redhawks Drum Group from Nbisiing Secondary School -- led by drum teacher Tory Fisher --  will be there as well, and Chantal Larocque, a Sargeant with the Nipissing detachment of the Anishinabek Police Service – remember when she sang the anthem at the Jay’s game last fall? – will sing the anthem for the hometown crowd.

See: Local police officer invited to sing anthem at Jays game

“Let’s come together once again this Sunday,” the Battalion urged in a release, “to honour the strength, resilience, and pride in Indigenous communities. It’s going to be another unforgettable day.”

David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.