Aboriginals "Front and Centre" at 2010 Olympics

Canada's indigenous leaders are being recognized as heads of state at the Vancouver Olympics, and this is causing quite a stir. The unprecedented move to not only include our First Peoples, but to give special honours to their community leaders, is held up by the media as yet one more reason that this Olympic Games will be one to remember.

The opening of the "Chief's House," the Aboriginal Pavilion, took place on Monday in Vancouver. Chief Justin George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, one of the Four Host First Nations of these Olympics, spoke of how the aboriginal involvement in the Games would make "my ancestors very proud." He sees the Olympics as a chance to celebrate with the world, but also to educate people and for native communities to benefit as well.

Another first, the Vancouver Olympics will be broadcast not only in French and English, but in eight of Canada's 65 distinct aboriginal languages and dialects. Events will be covered in Inuktitut, Dene, Cree, Ojibwe, Oji-Cree, Mohawk, Mi'kmaq and Mechif.

Hockey, figure-skating, luge, curling, biathlon, cross-country skiing and downhill event will all be carried on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN.) While only about one percent of people in Canada speak and understand these languages, the network expects to have a respectable audience for their broadcasts. Speakers of Cree number up to 200,000 alone, they say.

For some sports that are not traditional in our aboriginal communities, such as luge and curling, elders had to create words to describe sports in their languages. Because of this need to learn new vocabulary, commentators for the occasion were chosen not for their experience in broadcasting, but for their willingness to learn.

Abel David, who will be announcing in Cree, feels covering the Olympics in aboriginal languages will send a message of pride to aboriginal youth. "This is telling the young people 'Hey look, our languages are important,' " he says. "In order to know who we are, in order to know where we're going to go, we have to know our history, our culture, our languages, beyond lip service."

But some among Canada's First peoples are not convinced that the special attention Vancouver 2010 is placing on their cultures, does go beyond lip service.

President of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, feels the Olympics are being used to draw attention away from the "appalling and disgraceful levels of poverty" of aboriginal people in Canada. He will be boycotting the 2010 Olympics.

The B.C. All Chiefs' Task Force is taking advantage of the Olympics to draw attention to the fact that Canada has refused to sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A legal advocacy group serving the Downtown Eastside, infamous for the disappearance of multiple aboriginal women, plans to draw attention to the issue of housing and homelessness in Vancouver. The group is distributing red tents to people sleeping on the street. It has also produced legal information wallet cards for individuals who may be taking part in anti-Olympic protests, informing them of their rights and obligations if stopped by police.

The Olympic Resistance Network and Resist 2010, whose slogan is, "No Olympics on Stolen Native Land," are planning a number of events over the next few days. Protests are also planned by the Native Youth Warrior Movement.

While admission to the Aboriginal Pavilion in Vancouver is free, visitors can pay $25 to sample a late buffet of aboriginal dishes prepared by native chefs. There is also a shop in the pavilion where visitors can purchase "official Vancouver 2010 aboriginal merchandise," much of which seems to be mass produced sportswear and novelty items.

Products on the Vancouver 2010 web site that are labelled "aboriginal licensed" include a $40 passport holder embossed with Olympic and aboriginal symbols - which one reviewer said was attractive but made from "very cheap leather" - a $275 sterling silver pendant made by Birks, and beach towels featuring native symbols that retail for a little more than $25. The towels are said to be attractive, but made of poor quality materials. A disappointed purchaser said the towels, "will not last for very long."

Recalling a conversation about whether or not to support the 2010 Olympics, Squamish Chief and VANOC board member Gibby Jacob says he told other indigenous leaders, "If we get involved it's not going to be just beads and feathers. It's goings [sic] to be meaningful. We need to be front and centre of this event."

Aboriginal imagery is one of the focal points of these Olympics, and native communities and leaders are very much involved with the torch relay. VANOC is also donating a third of the royalties they make on sales of "Aboriginal licensed" to the Vancouver 2010 Aboriginal Youth Legacy Fund.

Sources:

"2010 Olympics' Aboriginal Pavilion showcases unprecedented partnership" Kim Pemberton (Vancouver Sun)

"Games being broadcast in multiple languages for polyglot Canadian audiences" Keith Bonnell and Florence Loyie (Canwest News, Edmonton Journal)

"Inside the Rings: Freedom makes a return to games" John Leicester (Associated Press)

"Olympic protesters mobilize in Vancouver" Carlito Pablo (Georgia Straight)