Viewpoint

Alwyn Morris

A Mohawk with a Mission

"While I was a national team athlete, I wondered why there were not more Aboriginals on the team," says Mohawk Alwyn Morris, probably best known for proudly raising an eagle feather when he won Olympic gold and bronze medals for kayaking in 1984.

"There were so many great Aboriginal athletes who never made it through the mainstream sports system," he says, explaining part of his 20-year quest to help Aboriginal youth. "Back then, it was difficult to access the sports system because there was very little grassroots support – few Aboriginal communities had sports centres or clubs. There were also social and economic considerations. If you don't play at the local level, then it is hard to make the provincial team and rise to the national level," he discloses.

Twice winner of the prestigious Tom Longboat Medal, he claims he was "just lucky" that when he grew up in Kahnawake, there was a canoe club where he could compete and improve his skills. He was able to rise up through the established sports system in Canada, despite discrimination and political pressure. "For many years, Aboriginals or First Nations wanting access to sports teams, such as Canoe Canada or Hockey Canada, were sent to Indian Affairs because Sports Canada had no Aboriginal policy," he says.

After retiring from competitive sports in 1988, Morris spent a decade sharing his Olympic experience with schoolchildren across Canada while trying to create the Aboriginal Sports Circle. The organization now includes every province and territory, and promotes athletics among Native youth. "It took from 1988 to 1995 to put the pieces together – finances, policies, administration – before we incorporated into a national board. It took time to convince people that this idea would work," Morris recounts.

First, however, the Order of Canada recipient set up the Alwyn Morris Educational and Athletic Foundation. Back in 1988, it was a way to "break down the doors to the Canadian sports system." The Foundation gave him an official way to approach both the government and private sector, and to be recognized and to establish programs. For example, the Foundation partnered with Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to establish an Aboriginal Leadership Program where CPR employees coach sports teams.

It helped bridge the gap between the two cultures and ran for five or six years. At the same time, the Foundation was levering the federal government to change its view and change the sports system for Aboriginals," he says.

Morris, who chaired the Circle for a decade, says that by promoting indigenous games and creating an effective Aboriginal sports delivery system, "we are now on the sports map. We have national sports organizations coming to us!"

"I think when I look at Canada as a whole – it's a massive country with so many different cultures – Aboriginal cultures are becoming not just more recognized, but more appreciated for what they bring to the country. It has been a while coming, but I think Canada will be a much better place for it," says Morris, currently the Associate Director of the Council of Chiefs for the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, located on the South Shore of Montréal.

Interview conducted in March 2005