SIX NATIONS – The North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) are coming soon and there is a lot yet to do.
NAIG Chief Executive Officer Marcia Trudeau-Bomberry and NAIG Sports Manager Nicole Clarke were at Six Nations Tourism on the weekend along with Six Nations Cultural Programming Manager Dallas Squire to review the NAIG agenda and clarify and possible areas of concern.
District No. 4 Councillor Wray Maracle spoke about the need for fundraising in advance of the games and suggestions on how this may be accomplished.
Members of the steering committee were also there to hear, among other things, Squire talk about the plans being made for the cultural element of the games, especially for the lacrosse venues here at Six Nations.
The main body of events will be held in and around the Toronto area between July16 and July 23. An estimated 5,250 athletes representing 200 indigenous languages from regions across North America are expected to compete in 14 sports categories in 230 sports competitions with 814 awards to be presented.
As in any event of this magnitude, volunteers are what make it work and a lot of them are going to be needed.
Organizers are looking for 3,500 people over 16 years old to fill out forms to apply for one of them. Trudeau-Bomberry explained, “We usually need about 2,000 but there are always those who sign up but can’t make it when the time comes for one reason or another.”
A volunteer can apply for specific venues or times which are available to select from the application form available on the NAIG website and Facebook.
Lacrosse will be played between the July 17 and July 22. Sports include archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, canoe/kayak, golf, lacrosse, rifle, soccer, softball, volleyball, swimming and wrestling.
Here at Six Nations, Haudenosaunee culture and the birth of the Creators Game will be on full display for the lacrosse element.
“We want to tell our guests the story of Six Nations and the people of it,” said Squire. “We want to explain things like the Two Row Wampum and things like that.”
It may seem to be still a long way off, but there really isn’t that much time.
“We thought we’d get this meeting in before the summer hits,” he said. “You know how it gets in the summer when everybody is off or doing something else.”
These events are still fluid but in a nutshell, there will be dancing and singing. Squire would also like to showcase other traditional Haudenosaunee games as well.
Much more details will be released as the plans solidify into a schedule.
