Tansi Nîtôtemtik,
If you read the newspapers in the early 1900’s, you would probably have come across the name, Tom Longboat. Who was Tom Longboat? Well, according to newspapers at the time, he was equally “a hero”, “lazy”, “a gifted athlete”, “a drunken Indian”, “a role model”, and “uncivilized”.[1]
Tom Longboat with the Ward Marathon Trophy in 1907. Image Credit: Charles A. Aylett / Library and Archives Canada
Tom Longboat was actually an incredibly gifted Onondaga runner from Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario.[2] He won the 1907 Boston Marathon, competed in the 1908 Olympics, and set the world record for 15 miles in 1912.[3]
Considering the conflicting media messages about Tom Longboat, imagine the barriers he must have experienced in his running career, and how hard he worked to overcome them. Tom Longboat was inducted to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1955 and Canada’s Olympic Hall of Fame in 1960--decades after his running career ended.[4] While Tom Longboat finally receives the recognition he deserves, athletic organizations still need to put our white-washed sporting history through the rinse cycle.
The goal of Call to Action 87 is to increase Canadians’ awareness of Indigenous athletes’ contribution to sport. This Call states:
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- We call upon all levels of government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, sports halls of fame, and other relevant organizations, to provide public education that tells the national story of Aboriginal athletes in history.
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Tom Longboat is one of the most accomplished Indigenous athletes in Canadian history, but many other Indigenous athletes have not received recognition for their accomplishments in Canada’s sporting history. Some organizations have made more progress on Call 87 than others. Here are some examples:
- The Aboriginal Sports Circle is Canada’s national voice for aboriginal sports, physical activity and recreation.[5] They present the annual Tom Longboat awards to honour Indigenous athletes for their outstanding contribution in Canada. Since 1951, with some exceptions, this honour has been awarded to the best male and female Indigenous athletes in Canada.[6] The winners’ names are added to the Tom Longboat trophy, which is displayed at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.[7]
- The British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame has created an Indigenous Sports Gallery that celebrates Indigenous athletes who have made an impact on the province’s sports history.[8] This gallery “attempts to remedy the fact that Indigenous athletes and teams have not been properly celebrated and honoured over the course of the province’s history.”[9]
- In 2017, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame launched an online exhibit that includes a handful of segments related to Indigenous sporting history. The exhibit is free to the public and titled Canadian History and Society: Through the Lens of Sport.[10]
- The Canadian Olympic Team has a webpage dedicated to National Indigenous Peoples Day, which recognizes some of the current Indigenous athletes on Team Canada.[11]
There is so much more these organizations could be doing to raise our national awareness of Indigenous athletes. Maybe you had heard of Tom Longboat prior to today’s post, but there are countless other Indigenous athletes deserving recognition in Canada’s sporting history. For this reason, Canada receives a “D” for Call 87.
Do you agree with our assessment? Let us know in the comments!
Until Next Time,
ReconciliAction YEG
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[1] Janice Forsyth, Remembering Tom Longboat: Indigenous Self-Determination in Canadian Sport (Regina: University of Regina Press, 2020) at 3.
[2] Ibid at 1.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Canadian Olympic Committee, “Tom Longboat”, online: https://olympic.ca/team-canada/thomas-longboat/.
[5] Aboriginal Sports Circle, “Home”, online: https://www.aboriginalsportcircle.ca/.
[6] Aboriginal Sports Circle, “Tom Longboat Awards”, online: https://www.aboriginalsportcircle.ca/tom-longboat-awards.
[7] Ibid.
[8] BC Sports Hall of Fame, “Indigenous Sport Gallery”, online: https://bcsportshall.com/exhibit/indigenous-sport-gallery/
[9] Ibid.
[10] Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame“Canadian History and Society: Through the Lens of Sport” online: http://www.canadasports150.ca/.
[11] Canadian Olympic Committee, “Team Canada National Indigenous Peoples Day Resources”, online: https://olympic.ca/team-canada-national-indigenous-day-resources/.
