Lots of of individuals will jam right into a hockey rink in Maple Creek, Sask., on Saturday evening to observe rodeo cowboys face off towards their Cree neighbours in a long-standing charity hockey recreation dubbed the “Battle of the Little Massive Puck.”
It is the fortieth version of what the city close to the Alberta border calls “an epic hockey recreation” between members of the Nekaneet First Nation, situated simply south of Maple Creek, and native cowboys who’re present or former rodeo rivals.
Within the third interval, gamers commerce their hockey gear for conventional put on. The cowboys play of their chaps, cowboy hats, plaid shirts and, typically, even spurs on their skates. The First Nations gamers put on headdresses, animal disguise and face paint. The referees are RCMP officers who turn into their pink serge.
“We’re simply neighbours. That is all we actually are,” stated Nekaneet Chief Alvin Francis, who performed within the first recreation in 1979 and continued on till he hung up his skates about 10 years in the past.
He stated outsiders might elevate an eyebrow on the groups calling themselves “Cowboys” and “Indians,” however he believes individuals who take the time to study in regards to the group — and the historical past and spirit of the sport — come to comprehend it is about mutual respect, unity and friendship.
“I perceive it is politically incorrect … however they think about themselves cowboys and we think about ourselves the previous time period of ‘Indians,’ which in the present day is First Nations, proper? In order that’s the way in which we take a look at it,” Francis instructed CBC Information. “We will chuckle at one another and make jokes with one another — simply to be neighbours — as a result of that is the way in which the world is meant to be. That is how we see it.”
Yearly, the sport raises hundreds of {dollars} for the native well being centre, youth actions or individuals in want. This yr, a part of the proceeds will assist Sandy Cooper, a teenage bronco rider who was paralyzed at a recent rodeo.
So how did all of it start?
It was 1978. Three associates stopped for a beer on a scorching summer season day.
Tom Reardon, now 75, hatched the plan with one other native cowboy, Nick Demchenko, and their buddy, Raymond Anderson, a member of the Nekaneet First Nation.
“It took multiple beer to plan it,” joked Reardon. “All we had been doing was planning a enjoyable Sunday afternoon. We weren’t visionaries or something like that.”
Reardon got here up with the sport’s title, Battle of the Little Massive Puck, impressed by the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.
“I went into the toilet on the bar, there, and whereas I used to be there, that entered my thoughts. I got here out and Nick and Raymond had a mouthful of beer after I stated that, and it splattered everywhere in the desk.”
The cowboys and Cree gamers confronted off of their first recreation in January 1979, elevating $180Â for the native hospital, then staged a rematch in 1980.
“It was tied. Every staff had received a recreation. We simply thought, ‘Properly, that is good,’ ” stated Reardon.
Just a few years later, some group members determined to resurrect the thought. They printed tickets and turned it right into a group occasion that has flourished for many years.
“The aim of it truly is the fellowship,” stated Reardon. “It is a enjoyable time!”
A way of group
For some, the sport has developed a deeper that means and symbolism.
The Nekaneet First Nation has a singular historical past in southwest Saskatchewan. Within the late 1800s, many First Nations had been pushed out of the Cypress Hills and moved onto reserves in different components of the province. However one chief — Chief Nekaneet — refused to go.
His individuals stayed within the space with out reserve land or federal funding, made associates with the settlers, farmed and realized to rodeo. The Nekaneet First Nation was granted reserve standing in 1913, however these relationships carried on.
As we speak, the Battle of the Little Massive Puck displays that historical past.
“Era on era, that is handed down. That data and that respect is handed down, proper from the start. You do not see that in different communities,” stated Maple Creek Mayor Michelle McKenzie.
The 51-year-old lady remembers going to the sport when she was 14. On the time, she was a bit uncertain of the place she slot in as a Métis woman locally. The hockey recreation helped her discover a sense of belonging, she stated.
“It did not matter who you had been or what you had been or the pores and skin color you had been, you had been nonetheless included in a part of the group. So that basically hits dwelling for myself, with the ability to work out the place I belong,” stated McKenzie.
Elder Larry Oakes will strap on his skates for Saturday’s recreation, simply as he has for nearly all the opposite video games. The 63-year-old former chief of Nekaneet First Nation stated everybody performs onerous, though it does not actually matter who wins.
“To be able to cope with one thing like racism or discrimination, individuals must be doing one thing. It is not simply one thing that you just simply write about or discuss. You higher be doing one thing. That is one thing that we will say we’re doing collectively,” he stated.
Within the closing minute of the hockey recreation, all of the gamers will flood onto the ice collectively, because the standing-room-only crowd cheers.
The Cree elder says, “It is a celebration.”
