POTLOTEK FIRST NATION: After a two year pause due to COVID-19, this Richmond County community is hosting the 2022 Mi’kmaw Summer Games.
Open to First Nations communities all over Nova Scotia, the eight-day event is expected to attract visitors from as far as New Brunswick and Quebec. This year organizers estimate that over 2,000 athletes will attend the festivities being held from July 15 to 24.
The Mi’kmaw Summer Games were first held in the 1970s. After a brief pause in the 90s, a group of local chiefs discussed restarting the tradition in 2009.
Levi Denny is the Mi’kmaw Sports Coordinator at Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey, the organization in charge of putting on the games. Denny has been on the board since the games restarted, and says they are a great chance to welcome visitors, come together, and to see Mi’kmaw culture, eat traditional food, and take part in friendly competition.
Participants can be anyone from a First Nation community in Nova Scotia, and the games usually take place in a community in Cape Breton.
Denny says right now participating communities are busy getting ready for the games; an exciting time in itself.
“They’re starting to do a call out for the teams, picking teams, everybody’s ordering their jerseys and their colours, they’re very excited,” Denny said. “I know communities are getting excited to be able to present their talents at the summer games.”
One event taking place at the games is waltes, an ancient Mi’kmaw game around for centuries. Contestants shake dice into a special bowl, attempting to land with a decorated side up to score. Denny says it’s spiritual, friendly and competitive and the most traditional game taking place during the week.
“Waltes is a big game for us, and that’s a good competition, a friendly competition. It’s a very fun game, it’s a game we know we own as Mi’kmaw that’s created from our ancestors,” he said. “We know it’s something our people have done forever and again it’s probably our most traditional game we have.”
Isaiah Bernard, Mi’kmaw Summer Games Coordinator for Potlotek, has been helping get the community ready for the games by clearing land, planning events, and acquiring equipment just to name a few duties. He says waltes is the sport he’s most excited to see take place, along with the quadrathlon on account of how much work he’s been putting into the route.
“The one I’m most excited for this year is our quadrathlon and waltes… We made this really nice digital map of the quadrathlon trail; it’s basically 1,000 metres of swimming to an island. When you get to the island you got to hop on a canoe, then take the canoe 1,000 metres and then you have to hit three to five archery targets I want to say, then you have to run for 5k.”
Bernard, a sports enthusiast himself, says the biggest challenge this year has been getting softballs for the games. He made an order for 30 cases and only four came in, he was informed they were sold out in the province.
“Getting softballs, that was a headache this year.”
“I had to drive to Saint John, New Brunswick just to get like 20 some cases of balls. They were really hard to get.”
Most events will happen inside the Potlotek, along with a few hosted close by. After having to pause the games for two years, Bernard is hopeful visitors from all communities in the area will come by and get to experience Mi’kmaw culture and more.
“We’re all looking forward to gathering and being welcomed into Potlotek, but also us welcoming visitors alike to come check out some competition, some culture and some traditional food and some modern-day food, so we’re very excited about being able to gather,” he noted. “It’s a little escape for our Mi’kmaw youth and our Mi’kmaw people, to be able to compete with our own and enjoy competition and enjoy the culture Potlotek will bring.”
With over 20 games and events taking place the first game is golf on July 15, at 9 a.m. Throughout the week some of the games featured will be: swimming, volleyball, softball, special Olympics events, archery, and much more.
A website and Facebook page for the 2022 summer games will highlight events, times and locations.