It’s our favorite day of the week! It’s Monday, which means a new episode of the This Is Hockey Culture podcast dropped this morning, so you can start your week off right. The second episode is all about the untold contributions of Indigenous peoples in hockey culture and hockey history.
The Indigenous and First Nations communities have left an indelible mark on the sport of hockey. After all, the modern-day version of the sport we all know and love is rooted in Indigenous culture. But the contributions of Indigenous culture and Indigenous players in hockey history often goes unnoticed and uncelebrated.
We start the episode by telling you the story of advocate and athlete Fred Sasakamoose, the first Treaty Indigenous player in the NHL. From there we tease at the relationship between hockey and Canada’s national identity, and introduce you to some other, lesser-known Indigenous players in hockey history.
We also go back in time to retrace hockey’s development as a sport and the Indigenous physical traditions that form the basis of the modern version of the sport we know and love today.
The episode ends with a discussion on the importance of including Indigenous history and narratives within hockey culture and history; and what the sport stands to gain in doing so.
Be sure to subscribe to This Is Hockey Culture where ever you listen to podcasts, so you never miss an episode. Check back here on Friday for the complete episode transcript.