Spirit North charitable organization is uplifting Indigenous youth through sport across Canada

Over 18,500 students have been involved in Spirit North's various programs across Canada since 2017.

A charitable organization built on empowering Indigenous youth through physical activity, Spirit North partners with communities and the schools within them to promote healthier living and improve students' well-being by bringing new sporting opportunities.

Founded by two-time Olympic medal-winning cross-country skier Beckie Scott, who last took silver 20 years ago at Torino 2006 and is of European ancestry. The idea for the non-profit came a decade after retiring from competition.

While serving as an ambassador for a small learn-to-ski program and visiting various Indigenous communities across northern Alberta, Scott's impetus was in Kikino, a Métis settlement roughly 185-kilometres northeast of Edmonton.

As the principal of Kikino school showed her around, a lone cardboard box sat empty in her office, catching Scott’s attention. There, a young boy would come and hide whenever he was afraid.

Wanting him to participate with the rest of the class, the principal and Scott got him on a pair of skis that afternoon. 

After he stepped off and glided down a hill, he threw his arms into the air and laughed. It was the first time, according to the principal, that she ever heard him do it.

“That was the moment [Spirit North began],” Scott recalled. “How do I go home and say, ‘this is not my problem?’

“The vision for it, which was to bring sport to kids who didn't have access, started that day.”

In 2024, Spirit North would undergo a change in leadership, with Scott stepping down as CEO and assuming the role of founder, with Gary St. Amand taking over.

Spirit North's other shift would be expanding beyond cross-country skiing, and