Athletes keen to compete as Tony Cote First Nations Summer Games return after 3-year hiatus

Young First Nations athletes from across Saskatchewan will be on hand Monday night for the opening ceremony of the Tony Cote First Nations Summer Games.

It is the first time since 2019 that Indigenous youth in Saskatchewan will get the chance to compete at the Games, which were put on hold due to COVID-19. The events will be held in Saskatoon and Whitecap Dakota First Nation.

That was also the last time the father of the Games, Tony Cote, attended the event in person. The veteran and former chief of Cote First Nation passed away shortly afterwards. 

Runners from Flying Dust Cree Nation — the host of the last Summer Games — started their journey on Thursday, carrying the Games' feathered lance on foot, relay-style, toward Saskatoon. They arrived on Sunday.

They will pass the lance to the new host of the Games, James Smith Cree Nation, during the opening ceremony Monday night at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. 

"We are ready for the Games," said Wally Burns, chief of James Smith Cree Nation.

"It was just a matter of being patient, and I guess being patient really pays off," he said, adding "I think this year is going to be a very excellent year for our 74 First Nations and also the people that are going to come and watch."

Cote "definitely saw the … right path that we needed to, you know, create our own event and have our athletes together over a week-long period," said Games manager Korey Diehl.

"I think that's what these Games are for, you know, to create opportunities that maybe some of our athletes don't have."

Cote and the council of the Cote First Nation initiated the Saskatchewan First Nation Winter and Summer Games in 1974, agreeing that the majority of First Nations youth in the province were being excluded by