Reclaiming Tom Longboat

Reclaiming Tom Longboatrecounts the history of Indigenous sport in Canada through the lens of the prestigious Tom Longboat Awards, shedding light on a significant yet overlooked aspect of Canadian policy and Crown-Indigenous relations. Drawing on a rich and varied set of oral and textual sources, including interviews with award recipients and Jan Eisenhardt, the creator of the Awards himself, Janice Forsyth critically assesses the state's role in policing Indigenous bodies and identities through sport, from the assimilationist sporting regulations of residential schools to the present-day exclusion of Indigenous activities from mainstream sports. This work recognizes the role of sport as a tool for colonization in Canada, while also acknowledging its potential to become a tool for decolonization and self-determination. (From University of Regina Press)

Janice Forsyth is an associate professor of sociology and the director of First Nations Studies at Western University. She is also the co-editor ofAboriginal Peoples and Sport in Canada.

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Interviews with Janice Forsyth

How the Aboriginal Sport Circle is helping empower through sport

3 years ago

Duration 5:48

CBC Sports Jacqueline Doorey sits down with ASC Vice President Janice Forsyth to discuss the not-for-profit organization that exists to support the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people and communities through participation in sport, physical activity, and recreation.

The hurdles Indigenous athletes face chasing Olympic dreams

3 years ago

Duration 6:34

A lack of access to elite sports, and issues with racism, are some of the hurdles facing Indigenous athletes when they chase their Olympic dreams. Previous Olympians are working to help remove those barriers. [Correction: The locator at the beginning of this story should read Siksika First Nation, Alberta]