Redblacks host hundreds of Indigenous youth as guests of honour at Ottawa football game

Hundreds of Indigenous youth and community members from Nunavut and the Ottawa area were invited to TD Place Friday for the Ottawa Redblacks’ Truth and Reconciliation game.

About 150 children and chaperones travelled from Nunavut to Ottawa, while another 150 people from local Indigenous communities joined them for the game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

For some of the visitors, it was their first time attending a professional sporting event.

“It’s so exciting to be here,” said Nicole Camphaug, who travelled from Nunavut with her daughter.

“For all the kids, it’s so wonderful that they get this experience,”

“I’ve never been to a sports game before,” said her daughter Katia.

Janice Barresi, a vice-president with the Redblacks' parent company Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), said the group was given the full game-day experience, including food, photos with the Grey Cup and an opportunity to learn about football.

Some were even on the field for the land acknowledgement and national anthem.

“To come to Ottawa and have a professional football experience, they were just thrilled,” Barresi said.

“We're getting way more out of it than we're giving and we're really proud to be a part of it,” she added.

OSEG partnered with Canadian North Airlines to bring the group to the game.

Shelly De Caria, Canadian North’s first Inuk president and CEO, said the event was intended to be about more than wearing orange shirts.

“Reconciliation is a two way street. It's about us showcasing who we are, as well as for southern Canada to know who we are,” she said.

Ottawa is an important hub for Canadian North’s flights to Nunavut, making it a natural place to bring Inuit youth together, De Caria said.

She said she saw