AFN to Host Inaugural Roundtable for IndigenACTION in Winnipeg – Initiative…
February 14, 2011
AFN to Host Inaugural Roundtable for IndigenACTION in Winnipeg – Initiative to Support Indigenous Athletes and Promote First Nation Health and Fitness
(Winnipeg, MB) – Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Manitoba Regional Chief Bill Traverse and IndigenACTION Ambassador Waneek Horn-Miller will meet with First Nation athletes, Elders youth and representatives from sports organizations and government in Winnipeg tomorrow for the first IndigenACTION roundtable event.
Media are invited to attend the opening remarks at 9 a.m, Tuesday February 15, 2011 at the Victoria Inn, Winnipeg Manitoba.
Launched last July, IndigenACTION aims to enhance support for Indigenous athletes and promote health, fitness and wellness in First Nation communities. The roundtable in Winnipeg is the first of a number of roundtable sessions to be held across the country. Tomorrow’s discussion will gather targeted participants from Manitoba, northern Ontario, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories.
“By bringing together groups of experts we hope to find out what is working and what can be improved upon in sport, fitness and recreational programming in respective regions across the country,” said IndigenACTION Ambassador and 2000 Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller who is facilitating the roundtable discussions. “We will gather opinions on the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples to be healthy and fit and discuss potential solutions. This input will help frame future roundtable discussions and a vision for a national strategy on sport, fitness and wellness.”
“The AFN national youth council is taking a leading role in this initiative that will encourage, motivate and create confidence in our young people,” said AFN national youth council member Evan Chamakese. “The IndigenACTION movement is an opportunity to grow and strengthen ourselves and our communities and to show people young and old that, through sport, recreation, physical activity, fitness and teamwork, we can develop the healthy vibrant, resilient, communities that we all want. This positive change is happening already. More and more young people are joining teams, hitting the gyms and participating in fun new fitness programs. People are walking, running, biking to work, taking their children to the park and that’s exactly what we hope to achieve with IndigenACTION – to help facilitate interest and support for life-long love for physical activity.”
AFN Manitoba Regional Chief Bill Traverse said: “First Nations are committed to achieving better health and improved health resources for our peoples and communities. Whether it’s building hockey rinks in the remote northern reaches of Ontario, sending sticks and balls to kids on the prairies, or giving kids on the streets of Winnipeg an option of joining a team instead of a gang, IndigenACTION is an opportunity for us to build on existing initiatives, spark opportunity and make our communities healthy places to live and grow.”
Waneek Horn-Miller and AFN representatives are also taking part in the national conference on Diabetes and Aboriginal Peoples taking place at the Delta Winnipeg this week (February 15-17).
The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nation citizens in Canada.
IndigenACTION Backgrounder - pdf
Contact information:
Don Kelly, Assembly of First Nations A/Communications Director
613-241-6789 ext. 334 or cell: 613-292-2787 or e-mail dkelly@afn.ca
Jenna Young, Assembly of First Nations Communications Officer
613-241-6789, ext 401 or cell: 613-314-8157 or e-mail jyoung@afn.ca
Alain Garon, Assembly of First Nations Bilingual Communications Officer
613-241-6789, ext 382 or cell: 613 292-0857 or agaron@afn.ca
