Masters Indigenous Games kick off in Ottawa

CBC

a day ago

Hundreds of Indigenous athletes from across the globe have gathered in Ottawa for the 2025 Masters Indigenous Games, where over the weekend they'll be competing in a mix of contemporary and traditional Indigenous sports.
The games kicked off on Thursday with an opening gala at TD Place, with competitions scheduled to run from Friday to Sunday for athletes aged 19 and over.
Carlyn Johnston with Indigenous Sport and Wellness Ontario, which organizes the games, said new to this year's games is the Arctic sports category, which is being held at Algonquin College at the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre.
Johnston said the category is intended to celebrate the cultural heritage and traditional sports of Indigenous peoples from the Arctic regions, with groups from Alaska and Greenland participating.
"These events that we have from the Arctic Games are really quite intense, they require a lot of balance and a lot of physical strength. So it's not just something anybody can do, and that's really the cool thing about it," she said.
"We have a huge representation of different cultures and I think it really goes to show the athletic excellence that Indigenous people are going to be showcasing here."
Joshua Qumuatuq-Thomas will be competing in the games for the first time. He learned these games as a child in Nunavut, including his favourite, the Seal Hop, where competitors bounce for as long as they can on their knuckles and toes, mimicking the act of sneaking up on a sleeping seal.
"It hasn't been as organized as this for me, so this will be a real eye opener," he said.
Aside from athletics, Indigenous arts, culture and food will be highlighted at the cultural village at Landsdowne Park. That's where Arturo Sanchez, the delegate of the Mexican Federation of Autochthonous Games and Sports, will be demonstrating the ancient Mesoamerican "ball game".
Sanchez says this is the first time he's demonstrated the ball game outside of Mexico.
"The world needs to see that Indigenous traditions are not dead. That we have to go to our roots to understand our present," he said.
Third time games held in Ottawa
The very first Masters Indigenous Games were held in 2018 in Toronto and was developed by Indigenous Sport and Wellness Ontario, the designated Provincial/Territorial Aboriginal Sport Body for Ontario, as a spin-off of the 2017 North American Indigenous Games. The inaugural 2018 Games featured 600 athletes from six countries.
Johnston says the games have grown globally since their inception. She hopes the impact will too.
"Indigenous people are amazing in so many ways and so to be able to showcase all of our abilities from all over the world, I think is really special," she said.
This is the third time the games are being held in Ottawa, with the games having previously taken place in the city two years ago.
The games will end Sunday with a reconciliation walk and run around Landsdowne Park.