Honouring Truth, Moving Toward Reconciliation in Sport

By Eva Violin, Comms Coordinator

Published September 30, 2025

September 30th marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. Today, we honour the survivors of residential schools, remember the children who never came home, and reflect on the intergenerational trauma still experienced by Indigenous communities today.

This day coincides with Orange Shirt Day, inspired by the story of Phyllis Webstad, a survivor who had her orange shirt taken from her on her first day at a residential school. Her story represents the experiences of thousands of Indigenous children who were taken from their families, stripped of their cultures, and forced into systems of assimilation and abuse.

As Brock SPMA students and members of the Sport Management Council, we know that sport is not neutral. Sport doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It reflects the values, politics, and inequalities of the society around it. It has been used as a tool of exclusion and colonial control, but also as a powerful space for resilience, resistance, healing, and community.

This year, our Council is taking the time to:

• Learn about the history and ongoing impacts of residential schools,

• Share educational resources across our platforms,

• Highlight Indigenous leaders in sport,

• Reflect on our role as future sport professionals in creating inclusive, decolonized sport spaces.

We know this is only one step in a much larger journey. Reconciliation is not a single day of reflection, it is a lifelong commitment to truth, learning, and action.

Sport and Reconciliation: A Shared Responsibility

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action include a specific section on sport (Calls 87–91). These calls urge all levels of government and sport organizations to remove barriers for Indigenous athletes, increase funding for Indigenous sport programming, and ensure equitable access to sport and recreation.

Reconciliation in sport means more than a land acknowledgment at events. It means asking tough questions:

• Who has access to the field, the rink, the court?

• Whose stories are we telling, and whose are left out?

• How can we use our positions in sport to create space for Indigenous voices, traditions, and leadership?

For those looking to deepen their understanding of reconciliation in sport, the Eve, Intersected podcast recently released a four-part series on responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action in sport. The series features several incredible guests, including Ryanne Logan, an Indigenous athlete and graduate student from Eelünaapéewi Lahkéewiit. Her unique insights and generosity make the conversations especially powerful. 

What makes this series hit close to home for SPMA students is that it’s hosted by Dr. Shannon Kerwin (Sport Management Professor and Graduate Program Director) and Nwakerendu (Kay) Waboso (PhD student in Child and Youth Studies) — voices from within our own community.

Our Council strongly recommends engaging with the four-part series to gain a deeper understanding of the responsibilities of sport leaders today. SPMA students should take advantage of these unique insights that connect lived experience, organizational practice, and the broader journey toward reconciliation in sport.

Honouring Indigenous Excellence in Sport

Today, we want to uplift a few of the many Indigenous athletes, leaders, and organizations who continue to make an impact:

• Waneek Horn-Miller (Kahnawake Mohawk): A former Olympian and the first Mohawk woman from Canada to compete in the Olympics. She now advocates for the empowerment of Indigenous youth through sport and wellness.

• Jordin Tootoo (Inuk): The first Inuk player in the NHL, Tootoo has spoken openly about his personal struggles and now works as a mental health advocate, especially within Indigenous communities.

• Alwyn Morris (Mohawk): Olympic gold and bronze medalist in kayaking (1984), who raised an eagle feather during his medal ceremony, which was a proud statement of Indigenous identity and sovereignty.

• Indigenous Sport & Wellness Ontario (ISWO): An organization dedicated to advancing the wellness of Indigenous peoples through sport, recreation, and cultural programs.

• Ted Nolan: Former NHL player and coach, Nolan led the Buffalo Sabres to a division title and earned the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year. He now empowers Indigenous youth through initiatives like the 3NOLANS First Nation Hockey School and the Ted Nolan Foundation.

These athletes and organizations are breaking barriers, reclaiming space, and redefining what excellence in sport looks like.

Learn. Reflect. Act.

We encourage everyone in our SPMA Spotlight community to:

• Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action

• Support Indigenous-owned and/or led sport businesses and organizations

• Follow and learn from Indigenous athletes, educators, and changemakers

• Wear orange, but also ask yourself why you're wearing it

• Listen to Eve, Intersected on YouTube

• Learn more about Indigenous Canadian history and residential schools: Watch for free “We Were Children” (National Film Board of Canada)

• Check which Indigenous territories you may be on using: https://native-land.ca

  
  

Closing Remarks

As a council passionate about sport, we believe in its power to unite. But that unity must be grounded in truth, justice, and reconciliation. We are committed to listening, learning, and creating a sport culture that uplifts Indigenous voices, traditions, and futures.

As the author of this post, I want to take a moment to recognize that every SPMA lecture I attend, every Council blog I get to write on Brock’s campus, and every minute I spend studying here is on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and is within the land protected by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Agreement. This agreement is a reminder that we all have a responsibility to care for and share the resources around the Great Lakes in peace and friendship. I am very grateful to have access to education on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, and I acknowledge the responsibility that comes with learning here.

Every child matters. Every voice matters. Indigenous sport matters.

References

This blog was informed by the following online sources (in alphabetical order):

• Alwyn Morris: The Canadian Encyclopedia

• Eve, Intersected podcast: YouTube

• Indigenous Sport and Wellness Ontario (ISWO): iswo.ca

• Jordin Tootoo: The Canadian Encyclopedia

• Land Acknowledgment: The Canadian Encyclopedia and Canada.ca

• National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation: nctr.ca

• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Canada.ca

• Orange Shirt Day: orangeshirtday.org

• Phyllis Webstad: Her story

• Ted Nolan: Brock News

• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Calls to Action. PDF

• Waneek Horn-Miller: Olympic.ca

• We Were Children (National Film Board of Canada): nfb.ca