I was 13-years old playing Peewee Hockey. Hockey was always an escape for me. It took me away from the troubles of being a kid; struggling through school, the social nuances of school, normal angst at home. Just for those few hours on the ice, I was Wayne Gretzky making the plays and scoring goals. Nothing beat it. One day I had a game about 45 minutes away from home. I scored a goal at the end of the first period. My Mom was jumping up and down cheering in the stands behind the goal. Mom is an introverted woman, but her voice carries. A kid on the other team yelled “Shut up you Chinese bitch!”
I am half Japanese, half Caucasian. I had put up with some kids in elementary school and some in middle school bullying me for that. I never thought in a million years that I would experience racism during a hockey game. Things haven’t changed much since the mid to late eighties. We turn on the news to hear cries of hate and racism every day. Unfortunately, things haven’t changed on the ice in 2018.
A First Nations peewee hockey team out of Waywayseecappo, Manitoba, experienced this in a game against a team in Neepawa; the town is 117 miles west of Winnipeg. The game between the 
and the Neepawa Natives got ugly on Saturday November 22nd. The ugliness of the game began in the first period. Tanis Brandon, whose twelve-year old son plays for the Wolverines is the team’s assistant manager saw things unfold.
“We heard many parents saying ‘those boys are just going to get drunk, maybe they’re drunk now. They’re probably hungover. Look at how they’re playing,'” said Brandon.
The name calling started after the first period.
“My son has long hair, they were teasing him about his hair,” said Brandon. “In our culture, our hair is our strength… For somebody to use our race and our culture against us… I hope he doesn’t want to cut it.”
The second period got rough with penalties. Referees told both teams to clean up play. Before the third period started the game was cancelled. The Wolverines lost to the Natives 10-2. The Neepawa fans all cheered after the announcement of the forfeit.
“They were saying ‘Good game, boys.’ It was the adults that were egging on the kids, giving them that confidence to be aggressive and more mean.” Said Brandon.
Hockey Manitoba started an investigation into the matter.
“Our initial investigation has revealed it appears comments have been made in both directions,” said executive director, Peter Woods in an email. “Hockey Manitoba is concerned when members may be exposed to an unsafe environment and we are always looking out for the welfare of our members whether that is physical, mental or emotional in nature,”
Jamie Denbow, president of the Neepawa Minor Hockey Association also assistant coach of the Natives met with parents to find out what happened.
“I can’t speak to what fans were saying,” said Denbow, who was separated from the stands by plexiglass. “There’s no way that you can hear anything.” Denbow said that racism is taken seriously in the Neepawa community and in the Neepawa hockey community.
“The organization, the team, the community is very accepting of any race, religion, colour, sexual orientation, you can keep going on and on, we are very open in endorsing the support of our community.”
Brandon spoke with her son after the game.
“He had a lot of questions. He didn’t know why we’re called savages. He didn’t understand the stereotypes about Natives being drunks. I had a lot of explaining to do,” said Brandon. “I felt like crying,” she said. “As an adult, I didn’t even know how to handle it if someone called me a dirty Indian or a savage.”
This is not the only incident in youth hockey involving racism this year. The Coupe Challenge Quebec AAA was held in Quebec City in May 25-27th. The First Nation Elites AAA team were 13-14-year olds from Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Ontario from Cree, Atikamekw and Algonquin communities as well as from First Nations communities. According to players, parents, and Elites manager Tommy H.J. Neeposh, players were called “Savages” by a coach and several spectators at the tournament.
“They were taunting our boys,” said Neeposh, adding it was the worst he’s ever experienced. “[They] were doing Indian cries and the refs and coaches saw it.”
Neeposh filmed the incident. At the end of the video a spectator can be heard saying “”gang de sauvages” or “gang of savages.” YouTube.com link.
Julien Marshall, 14, from Gatineau, Quebec, who played on the Elites team said the problems started in the first game of the tournament. After winning the game 2-1, the Elites were subjected to racist taunts. The opposing team mocked them in a “war cry” by hitting their mouths with their hands.
“I actually went really calmly and politely to one of the linesman,” said Marshall. “I said, ‘Are you seeing this? That is racist … this is wrong.'” Marshall said the referee did nothing and sent him back to the blue line as if he “was in the wrong.” YouTube.com link
Although Organizers of the Coupe Challenge Quebec AAA looked into the situation, they claimed very little can be done. Richard SĂ©vigny, the tournament organizer said that he was not at the game that the incident took place, but said that he made special efforts to include the Elites team after the tournament was full.
“What happens on the ice between young people, we can’t control that,” he said.
SĂ©vigny claimed that the Elites were also yelling racial slurs to the referee.
“Are the [Indigenous] players white as snow? I don’t know. Were the [non-Indigenous] players a bit arrogant? We just organize the tournament,” said SĂ©vigny.
Yvan Dallaire, director of rules and regulations for Hockey Quebec said racism will not be tolerated at games and guidelines make that clear.
“We have at Hockey Quebec a code of ethics for every member — players, coaches and administrators. This code of ethics is part of our rule books and every member, every year, needs to sign the code of ethics,” said Dallaire.
Racism is deplorable and inexcusable. These players are kids who love a sport and play it to the best of their ability. The key word is “kids”. Adults need to set an example for the young. Youth are impressionable and should be taught to respect others despite the color of their skin. These incidents are cautionary tales for us all.
All quotes courtesy of CBC reporting.
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