Indigenous games heat up in Blaine

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Round three of the North American Indigenous Games, which originated in Edmonton in 1990, has changed location and is gearing up for a July 29 - August 6 engagement.

The games switched venue from Bemidji, Minnesota, to Blaine, a suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul, due to a lack of facilities in the first location.

A November 3-4 planning meeting at the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has added two events - tae Kwan Do and slow pitch - to a sizeable number of events.

Already there are no less than 16 events that will offer tremendous challenges to all contestants, but only the number one athlete from any given region, in any given sport is eligible to make the teams.

As well, each event, on the average, consists of at least for or five separate categories.

Eugene Arcand, past chairman of the 1993 games at Prince Albert, offered a number of reasons for the events' apparent success.

"These are our games...we dictate what will happen," said Arcand.

And when it does happen, it does so with considerable impact as more than 3,000 athletes contested during the first games, about 4,500 on the second round, with approximately 8,000 athletes anticipated for '95 according to games manager Gabe Kapeska.

The North American games also play host to a cultural community, and showcase a broad spectrum of Aboriginal skill and talent in areas such as traditional games, music, and arts and crafts from all over North America.

So far, 18 states have indicated their intention to participate in '95, which is at least triple any previous involvement.

The Skaopee tribe has contributed $500,000 via its casino operations, and Barclay Kruse, on behalf of the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission announced another $300.000 as well as the use of the multi-purpose National Sports Centre.

More recently, Saskatchewan's chef de mission, Lorna Arcand, stated that the Royal Bank is contributing $5,000 to each participating province, plus $5 per athlete.

The sports centre contains 58,000 square feet of indoor arena with a 200-metre track.

The 12,000 seat outdoor stadium boasts a nine-lane, 400-metre track in addition to 30 soccer fields in the area, concessions, and much more.

Past organizers agree that the number of competitors will likely exceed 5,000 with the emphasis being in the 13-18 age bracket.