Project proponents Sara-Lynne Knockwood-Sack and Ryan Francis reported that Sara-Lynne completed a series of community engagements in 14 Mi’kmaq communities (including Halifax), and compiled a summary of findings from those engagements. These engagements were part of the first of the project’s two phases. The first phase included a literature review and community engagement, and the second phase focused on validating and receiving feedback on findings and action, and hosting a sports summit.

Following those phases, the next step in the project is to draft a Final Action Plan.

At a recent Sport and Recreation Committee meeting, Sara-Lynne provided an overview of how the work was done. The project’s engagements yielded several key findings:

• Participation in SPAR is supported by social connection, family focused programming, female-centered spaces, visible role models, cultural connection and a sense of belonging.
• Much of the SPAR programming accessed was in-community, and included recreational activities, such as gardening, dancing, or family activities
• A low number of participants reporting participation in a provincial and national sport program.
• Walking in communities was most mentioned, across communities
• Participation in provincial and national sports was minimal, indicating ongoing inequities in access and pathways thereto.

The engagements revealed a series of factors that facilitate participation, as well as barriers to participation and challenges or gaps.

Barriers identified through the engagements include:

• Limited financial resources
• A lack of time
• A lack of transportation
• A lack of facilities
• A lack of equipment and safe infrastructure
• Low sense of belonging in mainstream spaces
• Racism and bullying
• Limited awareness of participation and high-performance pathways
• Mental health challengers
• Female-specific health considerations

Facilitating factors include:

• Socialization and fun
• Family-focused programming
• Health and wellness
• Female-centered opportunities
• Female role models
• A sense of belonging
• An opportunity to participate
• Existing initiatives to reduce barriers

Challenges and gaps include:

• Available and accessible resources
• Adult female age group
• Mental health
• Participation and competition pathways
• Health, wellness, and fitness education
• Gender disparity
• Celebrating females In SPAR

The community engagements also identified several opportunities for Mi’kmaq language and culture to be integrated into SPAR, with the potential inclusion of cultural and Elder teachings, smudging, language learning and Indigenous events and more cultural activities.

The SPAR Action Plan will be designed around building capacity and increasing participation in Indigenous sport, physical activity, recreation and culture at community and provincial levels.

This project is a response to evidence of lower rates of SPAR participation among Mi’kmaq women and girls, and is intended to encourage and facilitate participation, along with the physical, mental, emotional and culture wellness it supports.

The Action Plan is also meant to advance Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 89 and 90 (policy and program development for Indigenous people), and Calls to Justice 1.3, 2.5 and 7.7. (prioritizing resources, establishing sustainable funding for self-determined programs that assist in cultural learning and capacity building).

Created by Gerald Gloade with Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre (MDCC), the poster was unveiled at the Tripartite Forum’s Sept. 10^th Culture and Heritage meeting.

The theme for this year’s poster is food, and Gerald’s work, with nuance and historical respect for Mi’kmaw tradition, incorporates imagery from the Mi’kmaw Moon Cycles – relating them to the Western 12-month calendar – acknowledging the seasonal, traditional Mi’kmaw food sources, and where they come from.

At its first unveiling at the Sept. 10^th meeting, Gerald explained the collaborative and creative process – three weeks of work, in consultation with the members of the Mi’kmaw History Month Committee, revising earlier designs and tweaking it to fit the month.

“It’s not just sitting there, doing one thing. It’s a progression, continually changing,” Gerald said.

He stressed the collaborative nature of the work, noting every detail was considered, from how to depict a the family preparing a meal and the depictions traditional food sources, to details like the grass needing to be brown, and not green, since the poster was made for October.

As part of his work, he incorporated a variety of artwork into the poster, including paintings that alongside one another, mix modern and traditional imagery by incorporating traditional Mi’kmaw archers, and contemporary Mi’kmaw fishers, for example.