White Buffalo Athletic Club may be medicine for your child

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Edmonton's White Buffalo Athletic Club is starting to generate quite a following these days. The group, organized by Harold Burden, recently returned from Super Cup 2000, an Aboriginal soccer tournament at Saanich, British Columbia.

The legal name for the club is the Aboriginal Holistic Youth Sport Development Society which operates through a grant provided via the Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centre Initiative. Locally, the UMAYC director is Val Kaufman.

For a group that has only been in existence a few short months and one that has not worked together much as a team, the six White Buffalo teams that traveled from Edmonton to British Columbia fared not too badly, all considered.

Altogether, 80 players plus coaches and chaperones from Edmonton made the trip. The tournament, hosted by the Saanich First Nation and organized by Dano Thorne on behalf of the Aboriginal National Sports Centre on the Saanich Reserve, is only in its second year and has much room for progress.

Last year, Thorne explained, "there were only 16 teams, this year there were 60." That's one positive.

Thorne longs for the day when the participants become a "force" that will compliment the grass roots and promote the development of coaches in Aboriginal communities. He would like to see more Aboriginals get to the national coaching level.

In the under 12 category, the Edmonton boys lost all three of their games. However, the 14 and under females got to the finals where they lost 1-3 to Saanich. The boys division lost out in the semi-finals 7-0 to Kehewin, the team that went all the way to eventually win the gold in a 6-1 rout over Saskatchewan.

In the 14 and under group from Alberta, with the exception of four players, the rest were actually all under the age of 12, while such was not the case amongst their competitors. The 21 and under men also got to the finals but lost 0-4 to the Cowichan team. As for the 21 and under females, they went the distance in the finals against Saanich, whom they ultimately lost to in a thrilling 4-3 overtime game.

So, although Alberta didn't haul home any first place hardware, they still made a good showing for their first effort and several were even named all stars.

The Albertan all stars were Ricky Bird and Brendan Hoade (under 12), Kyle Supernault, Dustin Adams, Solitaire Goodswimmer and Miranda Cooper in 14 and under, and Nikki Switzer and Cody Cardinal in the 21 and under.

Next year the Super Cup is in Prince George; and in Manitoba in 2002.

The Edmonton coaches are Candy and Bodhi Jury, who played a prominent part in organizing the trip to B.C., Jeannie Adams, Garrett Currie and Bert Hoade.

The soccer season has just about run its course. But the White Buffalo teams are scheduled to compete in a co-ed tourney for 10-15 year olds at Kehewin on August 17-18. They are also slated for an Edmonton match with the Edmonton Minor Soccer Association League August 18-20. This latter tournament will involve teams from Bonnyville, Edmonton, Kehewin and Duncan and North Shore, B.C.

Ball hockey latest development

More recently, Edmonton's White Buffalo Athletic Club has been attempting to organize a city-wide Aboriginal ball hockey league. Presently there are eight member teams; two each from Bent Arrow, the Canadian Native Friendship Centre, the Edmonton Boys and Girls Club and the Red Road Healing Society.

A few inter-agency exhibition games have already been played with more to come. Organizers are certain others will climb on board over time, especially after the school term fires up again. Right now, it's a bit tough getting a lot of teams together. Many members or potential members are on the road for the summer, working and so forth.

To facilitate the tournaments are Robb Campre, the athletic director, with Curtis Cardinal serving as his assistant. Burden is the executive director, Robb the sports director, Rachel Starr the education director and Aura Calahasen, the executive assistant.

Because education is priority, any child who experiences difficulty in the system and is not passing will be turned over to Starr who will see to it that they get proper tutoring. Any tutoring is cost-free, says Burden, adding, "we're very strict when it comes to alcohol and drug policies as well as swearing, fighting." Once suspended, one can only be re-instated by the Youth Advisory Council. Both staff and coaches have the power to suspend.

Speaking of staff and volunteers, etc., Burden praised the parents and relatives of the soccer players who went to the coast. "They did an outstanding job; the kids were well-behaved. It goes to show, if you get abstainers, it is important in terms of being role models for the kids."

Other projected initiatives of White Buffalo are volleyball, basketball. and ice hockey. The hockey will be co-ed for members who have never played organized hockey before. There will also be lacrosse camps for 10-14 year olds as well as 15 and up at various locations throughout the city.

There is a need for the co-operation of different Native organizations, said Burden. They will seek the use of more city schools and likely try to partner somewhat with others like Crystal Kids Youth Drop-In Centre on 118 Avenue.

Basketball a given

In 1999, White Buffalo literally dove into basketball with all hands and feet. They wound up doing the bulk of the funding and organizing of the first Native provincial basketball tournament for 21 and under. In that inaugural year, they had 10 teams compete at St. Joseph's High School, not far from downtown Edmonton.

Under the guidance and direction of Allan Ross, formerly from Saskatchwan, they also provided the officials, and awards of sweaters, t-shirts, jackets and track suits. The meet was won by Kainai, followed by Siksika and also included teams from Calgary, Onion Lake, Tsuu T'ina and a Filipino team from Calgary.

"It was a highly successful tournament and we will be involved again," said Burden.

To further promote the objectivesof the club and to generate greater interest and involvement, Burden has been concentrating a degree of his effort on promotion.

White Buffalo has had information booths at Aboriginal Awareness Days in Edmonton, at the spring powwow of the Aboriginal club at the university's Butterdome, at schools and meetings, and went on the A-Channel (television). They ran newspaper ads and have had flyers at Lac St. Anne Pilgrimage and at Klondike Days, and set up at the Canadian Native Friendship Centre's pavilion at Heritage Days.

Edmonton residents between 10 and 29 are encouraged to call White Buffalo at 440-0112.