CAAWS and the Aboriginal
Sport Circle Infuse Communities with Team Spirit
Ottawa, ON . . . Team Spirit:
Aboriginal Girls in Sport is a national project
to increase community sport participation opportunities
for Aboriginal girls and young women. Team
Spirit is a partnership between the Canadian
Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and
Physical Activity (CAAWS) and the Aboriginal Sport Circle.
The project is funded by Sport Canada, a branch of the
Department of Canadian Heritage.
CAAWS and the Aboriginal Sport Circle are excited to
be working with three new Team
Spirit programs. Each program will receive $6000
over two years to support a community sport program
for Aboriginal girls and young women. Kanenhri:io -
We are a Good Team, organized by the Ahkwesahsne Mohawk
Board of Education, is an after-school program. Niish
Nobbie Girls Rock, a collaboration between the Nawash
Board of Education and Niish Nobbie Nordics, is a cross
country ski program. Swing into Action, led by the Aboriginal
Friendship Centre of Calgary, is a learn to golf program.
These new programs will join others led by Joe Duquette
High School and the University of Saskatchewan, the
Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg, and the Aboriginal
Sports and Recreation Association of BC. Two additional
programs will be funded in 2007/2008.
CAAWS and the Aboriginal Sport Circle will co-host
consultations in each new community to increase community
support and awareness about the community programs and
the national project. The consultations will also provide
an opportunity for mutual learning about the needs,
interests and experiences of Aboriginal girls and young
women, and the realities of providing them with programs.
The consultations will be held in Wiarton, ON on December
5, 2006; in Akwesasne, ON on December 7, 2006; and in
Calgary, AB on January 10, 2007. For more information
about the consultations visit http://caaws.ca/onthemove/e/aboriginal/consultations.htm.
The Aboriginal Sport Circle endorses Team
Spirit’s community-based approach. “Providing
funding at the community level and supporting initiatives
that are community-driven is an investment in the community,
increasing capacity and involvement. The Team
Spirit programs can make a difference for Aboriginal
girls and women.” CAAWS Chair, Janice Forsyth,
spoke specifically to the value of the consultations
for girls and women. “Bringing women together
to talk about the meaning and value of sport and physical
activity puts their voices at the centre of community
strategies to address inactivity. It also provides an
opportunity for organizations such as CAAWS and the
Aboriginal Sport Circle to learn how to be supportive
allies for community-based action.”
Sydney Millar
National Program Director Canadian Association for the Advancement of
Women and Sport and Physical Activity
N202-801 King Edward Avenue
Ottawa ON K1N 6N5
Tel: 613 - 562 - 5667
Fax: 613 - 562 - 5668
'CAAWS
appreciates the financial support of Heritage
Canada, Sport Canada
