The Indigenous Physical Activity & Cultural Circle (IPACC) recently hosted the National Indigenous Physical Activity & Wellness Conference on May 1st and 2nd, 2021. It is the nation’s largest conference on Physical Activity & Wellness for First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples and was created for all individuals interested in the promotion of health and wellness through physical activity. The event was organized by Dr. Rosalin Miles, who is also a research associate with the UBC Indigenous Studies in Kinesiology Program, and Shawn Hanna, who is the research coordinator with IPACC.
The event was a huge success with over 200 attendees at the virtual conference. Our opening keynote speaker on day one was Richard Peter, a member of the Senior Men’s National Team for basketball who was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame. Dr. Wilton Littlechild, who was a past Cree chief and has worked nationally and internationally with United Nations to advance Indigenous Rights and Treaties, and Randy Ermineskin, who was one of the first Indigenous hockey players from the Maskwacis area to play in semi-professional hockey and is the current Chief of Ermineskin Cree Nation were our opening keynote speakers on day two. Waneek Horn-Miller, who is a graduate student with the Indigenous Studies in Kinesiology program, was the closing keynote speaker sharing her experience on the Canadian Women’s Water Polo team and competing at the 1999 Pan American Games and 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games. Our very own Dr. Moss Norman was also a presenter at the conference, sharing his research regarding the mainstream media coverage of a recent lawsuit involving five First Nations communities and Manitoba Hockey.
We would like to thank Dr. Darren Warburton and Dr. Shannon Bredin for their support during the planning of this event, and also to all our student volunteers for their support during the planning and execution of this virtual conference! IPACC would also like to thank the University of British Columbia – Community Excellence for providing honorarium support for our keynote speakers. Lastly, thank you to all the UBC KIN students, staff, and faculty who attended this event, and we hope to see you at our conference next year!