PRAXIS AND COMMUNITY-LEVEL SPORT PROGRAMMING STRATEGIES IN A CANADIAN ABORIGINAL RESERVE

From national statistics, it has been indicated that Canadian Aboriginal youth are overrepresented in lower health demographics than the rest of the national population, suffering from higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart problems. When Schinke, Michel, and colleagues (2006) engaged in preliminary research with elite Aboriginal athletes, the participants expressed a cultural struggle related to retaining Aboriginal youth in sport programming. The athletes proposed modifying programming strategies to account for attrition. Herein, mainstream academics partnered with Aboriginal community members to address this concern. Talking circles and a decision-making consensus were employed. Emergent themes included integrating elders, promoting Aboriginal role models, and developing a broader volunteer base. This manuscript is authored to elucidate, from the words of the Wikwemikong, how culturally relevant sport programming will be reconsidered in their Reserve.