Anticipation is building for the Eeyou Istchee Summer Games, returning this year for the first time since 2011. Mistissini will host the EISG July 14-21, which will include competitive sports for youth aged 9 to 18, cultural activities and nightly entertainment.
While the Eeyou Istchee Sports and Recreation Association (EISRA) has led organizational efforts, partnership with the community and other Cree entities will enable the Games to operate on an unprecedented scale, which will be livestreamed on the JBCCS Cree radio network.
“It’s through collaboration with all these partners we’re able to make this a reality for the Cree Nation,” said Clifford Loon, EISRA operations manager. “We’re trying to encourage the social, mental and physical wellbeing of the youth, interaction with peers, hopefully making lifelong connections.”
The athletic festival will welcome delegations from all Cree communities, including Washaw Sibi and MoCreebec, for over 40 track, field and aquatic events and team competitions in softball, basketball and volleyball. Approximately 800 youth delegates are expected, to be accommodated in Mistissini’s elementary and secondary schools.
Portage is featured on the newly designed EISG logo and is one of its main events, according to EISRA president Charles J. Hester. A traditional games component for adults will include cultural activities such as canoe racing, leg wrestling, teepee erecting and the foxtrot, a traditional tug-of-war contest between two people.
Youth Grand Chief Adrian N. Gunner has fond memories of participating in the 2011 EISG, making friends from other communities and improving fitness through training for 5 km races, short distance sprints and leg wrestling. One of the major motivations of bringing back the Games is reuniting people following the Covid pandemic and last summer’s wildfires.
“Sports and culture can be powerful paths to healing for our youth,” stated Gunner. “The sense of pride you earn as a participating athlete is something that sticks with you and can positively shape the person you become.”
While the Games have been held sporadically since the 1970s, organizers hope to secure funding to make this a regular event occurring every two years. The steering committee said its $1.5 million budget supports expenses like equipment, transportation and lodging to promote the longer-term objective of active living and healthy lifestyles among Cree youth.
Kickstarting funding through the Cree Health Board, chairperson Bertie Wapachee recalled the sheer strength of Cree men like his father, who had competed in portage. The health board will be launching its mobile hospital at the event, a non-surgical unit designed for light transportation and rapid set-up developed with the Canadian Red Cross.
“Cree people are known for our strength,” said Wapachee. “The power of our people is something to be celebrated. It was a project waiting for support – I thought our youth deserve as big an event as any other.”
Noting the increase of bullying and violence since the pandemic, Cree School Board chairperson Sarah Pash said the EISG is an opportunity to promote pro-social behaviour and the Cree concept of healthy living, or Miyupimaatisiiun. League sports like basketball and volleyball have seen a resurgence of interest this year, yielding positive impacts in classrooms.
“We’ve focused on encouraging healthy relationship development, promoting lateral kindness among our students,” Pash said. “To be a part of team-building activities and engage in extracurricular sports and clubs to develop those connections with their peers.”
Families of the participants are invited to follow the EISG through the livestreams and the creegames.ca website. Ahead of the Games, its Facebook page has been hyping the entertainment lineup and sharing inspirational videos featuring Israel Mianscum, Mistissini’s hockey phenom recently signed to the Montreal Canadiens, former Games standout Miranda Blacksmith and 13-year-old swimming prospect Abighail Petawabano.
“The aquatic sport is exciting and very new,” explained Loon, noting that most Cree communities now have pool facilities. “I know Mistissini participates in swim meets across the province, taking their team to competitions in the Lac Saint-Jean area. It will be interesting to see how the other communities compare.”
Blacksmith competed twice in the EISG before being selected to join Quebec’s team for the North American Indigenous Games as a 17-year-old in 2014. In the under-19 category, Blacksmith won silver in the 800-metre race and gold medals for the 1500-metre race, the 3000-metre race and the 6k cross-country races, in which she broke the NAIG record.
“The Games promote a sense of unity and friendship among the Cree communities,” Blacksmith told the Nation. “It provides a platform to showcase their talents and abilities, fostering their sense of pride and confidence in their own skills. I want to encourage all Cree youth to come out and experience what it’s like to have fun and create good memories.”
Blacksmith explored sprinting, long jump, high jump, javelin and discus to push her limits and discover where she most excelled. Before training in Mistissini with coach Patrice Dominique, her uncle Alfred Blacksmith would take her out for daily runs and steer her towards a healthier lifestyle.
“A lot of Cree youth today deal with drugs and alcohol,” Blacksmith asserted. “Exposure to sports will help align their personal discoveries and stay out of trouble. Through sports, Cree youth can connect with their traditions, language and values, strengthening their cultural identity.”
EISG programming developed by the Cree Native Arts and Crafts Association will celebrate cultural elements including storytelling, traditional drumming and snowshoe making. Various activities are planned for the evenings, such as a fiddle dance, a DJ night and a series of concerts.
Performers will include Mistissini’s award-winning singer-songwriter Siibii and Cree hip-hop trio the North Stars. Plains Cree rapper Drezus will stick around to provide workshops after playing the opening ceremonies while everyone in Mistissini is invited to see the closing ceremonies with Dank Aspects and Illiyah Rose.
“We’re hoping youth in all the Cree communities walk away with an experience they’ll cherish and tell their grandchildren they were part of,” said Loon. “We’re hoping this project will maybe produce participants for the Jeux du Québec or other events on a higher stage. Who knows – maybe we’ll have an Olympian.”