Indigenous resource promotes physical literacy

By TRT Staff with notes from sportforlife.ca

Last summer’s publication of ‘Aboriginal Communities: Active for Life’ places physical literacy at the heart of a holistic model of indigenous community health and wellness, released in June of 2021.

The new sport development resource from the Aboriginal Sport Circle and Sport for Life promotes physical literacy and quality sport as a means of increasing physical activity and community health for Indigenous people across Canada.

“The resource and accompanying full-day workshop were created with guidance from Indigenous leaders throughout the country, with the purpose of inspiring community leaders looking for culturally tailored resources that act as a vehicle toward individual and community holistic development,” reads the Sport for Life website.

“The resource and workshop supports these individual champions as they embark on a journey to develop sustainable quality sport and physical activity programs, build collaborative relationships, and re-engage their community members into active and healthy lifestyles.”

Written as a first-person narrative, the booklet show observations and reflections of a fictional community sport leader who describes the importance of physical literacy and community sport. Through the narrative, prospective coaches and leaders are given the tools to learn how to deliver culturally-appropriate coaching and sport programming for Indigenous athletes.

Over 260 Indigenous nations from across Canada were consulted and were central to the development of the resource and its companion workshop.

Through greater physical literacy, it is also hoped that more indigenous athletes will eventually pursue high performance sport on the biggest national and international stages, including the Olympics and the North American Indigenous Games.

As the Aboriginal Communities resources are made available, the Aboriginal Sport Circle and Sport for Life also seek community partners and individuals who want to help to make sport and physical activity more accessible and supportive of Aboriginal participants and athletes across Canada.

If interested in obtaining copies of Aboriginal Communities, or seeing a workshop delivered in a community, Sport for Life and the Aboriginal Sport Circle are available for contact.

The connections provided last summer include Emily Rand at Sport for Life or Heather Kaulbach at the Aboriginal Sport Circle. You can also stay updated on Aboriginal Communities events and workshop offerings or register for the Sport for Life newsletter.

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