Exhibit at Winnipeg Jets practice facility aims to make sure South Asian kids feel like they belong in hockey

A new bilingual exhibit in Punjabi and English in Winnipeg aims to ensure South Asian kids feel like they belong in the world of hockey, while also exploring issues of decolonization and privilege in sports.

Sikh Heritage Manitoba unveiled the We Are Hockey exhibit at the Hockey For All Centre — where the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose practise — on Wednesday, to showcase South Asian culture and inclusivity within Canada's national sport. 

The exhibit's primary translator, Sheena Gurm, said there were many sleepless nights learning how to translate words such as "decolonization" and "inclusion," which are not often used in the Punjabi language. 

However, "this is a really great opportunity to promote the language, to promote the culture and … intersect both hockey culture and Punjabi culture," Gurm said.

"That will go a long way to attract younger people to the sport, making them feel like they belong," said Gurm, who added she didn't know anything about ice hockey when she moved to Canada from India at age 12.

The exhibit was curated by Satwinder Kaur Bains, an associate professor who is director of the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley in B.C.

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It features about 15 panels describing the history of hockey in Manitoba dating back to the 1800s, including biographies of National Hockey League players of various ethnic backgrounds.

The exhibit tells the story of sports through a different lens than usual, and highlights the accomplishments and contributions of members from diverse communities, said Ganni Maan, a member of the Winnipeg Jets advisory council.

"A lot of people don't know how to find their place in hockey,"