Get ready for the Eeyou Istchee Summer Games

by Patrick Quinn

Excitement is building for the Eeyou Istchee Summer Games, returning this year for the first time since 2011. Mistissini will host the EISG from July 14 to 21, featuring competitive sports for youth ages 9 to 18, cultural activities and evening entertainment.

While the Eeyou Istchee Sports and Recreation Association (EISRA) has led the organizational efforts, the partnership with the community and other Cree entities will ensure that the Games can take place on an unprecedented scale. The Games will be streamed live on the JBCCS Cree radio network.

“By working with all of these partners, we can make this a reality for the Cree Nation,” said Clifford Loon, EISRA’s operations manager. “We’re trying to promote the social, mental and physical well-being of the youth, peer interaction, hopefully making lifelong connections.”

The athletics festival welcomes delegations from all Cree communities, including Washaw Sibi and MoCreebec, for more than 40 athletic, field and aquatic activities, and team competitions in softball, basketball and volleyball. Approximately 800 youth delegations are expected to attend, which will be hosted in Mistissini elementary and middle schools.

Portage is featured on the newly designed EISG logo and is one of the main events, according to EISRA President Charles J. Hester. A traditional adult play component includes cultural activities such as canoe racing, leg wrestling, pitching teepees and the foxtrot, a traditional two-person tug-of-war.

Youth Grand Chief Adrian N. Gunner has fond memories of participating in the 2011 EISG, making friends from other communities and improving his fitness by training for 5km races, short-distance sprints and leg wrestling. One of the main motivations for bringing the Games back is to reunite people after the Covid pandemic and the bushfires of last summer.

“Sports and culture can be powerful pathways to healing for our youth,” Gunner said. “The sense of pride you earn as a participating athlete is something that stays with you and can positively shape the person you become.”

Although the Games have been held sporadically since the 1970s, organizers hope to secure funding to make it a regular biennial event. The Steering Committee said the $1.5 million budget will support expenses such as equipment, transportation and accommodations to promote the long-term goal of active living and healthy lifestyles among Cree youth.

Kickstarting funding through the Cree Health Board, Chairman Bertie Wapachee recalled the tremendous strength of Cree men like his father, who had participated in portage. The health board will launch its mobile hospital at the event, a non-surgical unit designed for light transport and rapid deployment, developed with the Canadian Red Cross.

“Cree people are known for their strength,” Wapachee said. “The strength of our people is something to celebrate. This was a project that needed support – I felt our youth deserved an event as big as any other.”

Sarah Pash, chair of the Cree School Board, noted that bullying and violence have increased since the pandemic and said the EISG is an opportunity to promote prosocial behavior and the Cree concept of healthy living, or Miyupimaatisiiun. Competitive sports like basketball and volleyball have seen an uptick in interest this year, which has had positive effects in classrooms.

“We’ve focused on encouraging healthy relationship development, promoting lateral kindness among our students,” Pash said. “To engage in team building activities and participate in extracurricular sports and clubs to develop those connections with their peers.”

Families of participants are invited to follow the EISG via livestreams and the creegames.ca website. In the lead-up to the Games, the Facebook page has been hyping the entertainment line-up and sharing inspirational videos featuring Israel Mianscum, Mistissini’s hockey phenom who recently signed with the Montreal Canadiens, former Games star Miranda Blacksmith and 13-year-old swimming prospect Abighail Petawabano.

“The water sports are exciting and very new,” Loon explained, noting that most Cree communities now have swimming facilities. “I know Mistissini competes in the province’s swimming competitions, 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 at the EISG before being selected for the Quebec team at the 2014 North American Indigenous Games at age 17. In the under-19 category, Blacksmith won silver in the 800 meters and gold medals in the 1500 meters, 3000 meters and 6 km cross-country races, in which she broke the NAIG record.

“The Games promote a sense of unity and friendship among Cree communities,” Blacksmith said the nation. “It provides a platform to showcase their talents and skills, which fosters their sense of pride and confidence in their own abilities. I would encourage all Cree youth to come and experience what it’s like to have fun and create great memories.”

Blacksmith explored sprinting, long jump, high jump, javelin and discus to push her limits and discover where she excelled the most. Before she started training at Mistissini with coach Patrice Dominique, her uncle Alfred Blacksmith took her for daily runs and steered her toward a healthier lifestyle.

“Many Cree youth today are dealing 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 snowshoeing. Several activities are planned for the evenings, including a fiddle dance, a DJ night and a series of concerts.

Performers include Mistissini’s award-winning singer-songwriter Siibii and Cree hip-hop trio the North Stars. Plains Cree rapper Drezus will stick around to teach workshops after playing the opening ceremonies, while everyone at Mistissini is invited to see the closing ceremonies featuring Dank Aspects and Illiyah Rose.

“We hope that young people in all Cree communities will walk away with an experience that they will cherish and tell their grandchildren that they were a part of,” Loon said. “We hope that this project might bring in participants for the Jeux du Québec or other higher level events. Who knows – we might have an Olympian.”

Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation