For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have played their own sports to teach survival and other life skills, for fun, and for competition. The First Nations’ contributions to Canadian sports are visible today in sports such as kayaking, canoeing, snowshoeing, swimming, wrestling, and lacrosse, a sport which was originally played by First Nations people on the east coast.

Soccer is the world’s most popular sport and one of the oldest sports known, beginning over 2000 years ago in China. Cuju involved kicking a ball into a small hole. A similar sport was recorded in Mexico & Central America in 1600 A.D. Records show the use of balls stuffed with grass, caribou hair, and moss in Alaska and Canada. In 1620, the natives in the Jamestown settlement (Virginia, USA) played a game called pasuckaukohowog (they gather to play ball with the foot). The rough game was played on the beach, half a mile wide, with the goals a mile apart and as many as 1000 players.

We hope everybody continues to join us and share in the rich history and culture shared at the Seabird Island First Nation Festival for years to come, and we look forward to seeing you all at other events on the circuit this year.