A hockey camp created by Wacey Rabbit and supported by the Indigenous Sport Council of Alberta is giving Indigenous kids a place to be kids
Hockey and community have always gone hand-in-hand for Wacey Rabbit. He
remembers getting to the rink for one of his first practices was a family
effort.
“My mom didn’t know how to put on my equipment, and I had a 6 a.m.
practice, so we had to drive 20 minutes to my grandparents’ place,†Rabbit
laughs. “So, I’m sitting there watching Saturday morning cartoons and
eating my cereal while my grandparents are showing my mom how to put my
equipment on.â€
Those memories full of family and friends are the foundation on which
Rabbit’s love for the game was built. The 34-year-old just finished his
15th season as a professional, the last three-and-a-half with the
Jacksonville Icemen in the ECHL. But his experiences within the game didn’t
always match his positive outlook. Rabbit remembers the first time he was
exposed to racist and derogatory comments at the rink as a 10-year-old
playing in his first major tournament away from the Kainai First Nation in
southern Alberta.
“I remember talking to my parents and grandparents about it and my grandma
said, ‘It’s not a reflection on you, it’s a reflection on them for what
they’re saying. You be proud of who you are, and you be proud of where I
come from.’ And I’ve taken those words with me everywhere I go,†Rabbit
says.
“I’m a very proud First Nations man. I come from the Blood Tribe, I’m
Blackfoot. For me to say those things and recognize those things, I hope
that the next generation is proud that they can chase their dreams whether
it’s on reserve or off reserve, whether it’s in academics, sports, whatever
it is, whatever their passion is, that they believe in themselves to go and
chase that.â€
Rabbit is trying to support at least some of the dreams of Indigenous
youth, by creating the WR20 Power Skill Hockey Camp and touring it around
Alberta. (He has plans to take his camps to First Nations throughout the
country when it is safe to do so.)
“We’re just trying to get the game out there and the wellness of sports and
living healthy,†Rabbit explains. “Especially with COVID, you could see how
hard it was on some of the younger kids … it was important that, even if it
was just for an hour a day, these kids got to go on the ice and just be
kids to help with their mental health.â€
While some locations had to be moved or ice times adjusted to meet public
health protocols, Rabbit managed to host camps in Kainai, Siksika and Frog
Lake First Nations. At each stop, he recruited other Indigenous
professional players to help, including Devin Buffalo.
“Just seeing him work with the kids in Frog Lake, you could tell, a lot of
coaches don’t have that connection with the youth,†Buffalo says. “I was
able to learn from him, to remember that for the youth, hockey is fun and
to keep it fun not to make it too serious, and sometimes it is OK to make
hockey playful and play games and just keep things light and fun.â€
Captain Indigenous from Frog Lake First Nation WR20 Power Skill Youth Hockey Camp. Day 2 let’s roll ! pic.twitter.com/AE23yROvNf
— Wacey Rabbit (@WaceyRabbit20) October 31, 2020
Growing up, Buffalo says he knew Rabbit had a very successful junior career
in the Western Hockey League (including a Memorial Cup in 2007 with the
Vancouver Giants) and had gone on to play professionally, but didn’t really
get to know him personally until they were both in the ECHL. With similar
experiences in their past, Buffalo says Rabbit naturally became a mentor
for him and has been a huge support in his own post-playing career,
creating goalie camps focused on the development of Indigenous netminders.
“ [Now I’m] passing that on, creating players that are not just great
hockey players but great people and students in the classroom,†says
Buffalo, who earned a political science degree at Dartmouth College while
playing for its men’s hockey team.
In addition to running his own camps, Buffalo works with the Indigenous
Sport Council of Alberta. He says it was a great decision by the executive
committee to name Rabbit a hockey ambassador for the Council.
“He was definitely someone who had all the attributes we were looking for
in an ambassador and just the way he responds to the kids and all the kids
he does work with have glowing reviews, so I think it was an easy
decision,†Buffalo explains.
“Hockey is my passion, but my people are the most important thing for me –
my family,†Rabbit says. “Hopefully in 10 years there’s a hundred kids in
the NHL and we see a First Nations kid playing for the (Maple) Leafs,
finally giving them their [Stanley] Cup, but he’s the captain raising the
banner; that’s what I want for the next generation.â€
Rabbit laughs while making the joke about the 54-year drought for the
Leafs, but keeps smiling thinking about the possibilities for his people.
“For our next generation, I just want to make sure it’s an easier
transition for them to get into sports, because at the end of the day
sports is about community. It’s about coming together; it’s about having
fun … so it’s about building community in sports. I think that’s the most
important part.
“Everybody has a voice; everybody has a right to go play and feel like
they’re accepted.â€
More information on WR20 Power Skill Youth Hockey Camps can be found by
following Wacey Rabbit on Instagram
@wr20powerskills
, and check out
WaniskaMentality.com
for more information about Devin Buffalo’s goaltender camps.
