Team Woodland and youth athletes from BATC ran with the Tony Cote Summer Games Lance for 10 days from La Ronge to North Battleford.
The run began on Wednesday, July 15 and ended at the Tony Cote Summer Games Opening Ceremonies on Sunday, July 26.
Competing and non-competing athletes from different nations worked together to uphold the tradition of passing on the lance every two years from host to host of each Tony Cote Summer Games.
“It clears the path for all the athletes and the coaches and everyone going to the games,” Shalene Bird said. “That’s the connection to the land, the games don’t start until that lance gets to where the games are being held.”
Shalene and Shane Bird are the owners of Birds Indigenous Consulting Services, who provide a variety of services such as Land Based Camps and Canoe and Hunting Camps, and Keynote Speaking, based in Indigenous knowledge and cultural teachings.
The lance was passed from Chief Kirby Constant of James Smith Cree Nation to Chief Tammy Cook-Searson of Lac La Ronge Indian Band for the 2024 Tony Cote Summer Games, hosted by Team Woodland in La Ronge. Chief Cook-Searson chose Shane to hold the lance until the next Tony Cote Games.
“The Chief chose Shane to carry that lance because Shane is very involved in his traditional ways, and goes to ceremonies and stuff like that,” said Shalene. “He’s sober and tries his best to walk in a good way, so that’s why she chose Shane to carry that lance.”
Since the lance being passed on to him Shane, has carried and travelled with the lance and prayed with it in ceremonies over the past two years.
“That lance has a spirit, a long time ago, our people would send scouts out before they were going to hunt or going into a war. They would clear a path for their people, and they would go and check to see if it was safe. Then they would come back and then tell their people if it was good to go or not,” Shalene explained.
Team Woodland hosted a Lance Camp before the Lance Run to teach the youth and participants about why they are running and prepare them for the journey to the Battlefords. The camp consisted of pipe ceremony every morning, team building activities such as fishing or swimming, or other land-based activities, then a sharing circle would take place in the evenings.
The Lance Run consisted of about 20 youth from Team Woodland and some youth from Battlefords Agency Tribal Council, as well as the drivers, and Team Woodland’s Elder.
“I think he ran about one kilometre a day and he’s almost 70 years old. He ran with us, (and) it was powerful,” Shalene said when mentioning Team Woodland’s elder running alongside the youth.
Athletes competing in the games, and non-competing youth were both present on the run, so the non-competing youth could have a chance to experience the run even if they weren’t taking part in the games.
The Lance Run was taken on the backroads, where it had never travelled before, instead of on the highway, where it has traditionally gone. The group stopped in communities such as Hall Lake, and Waterhen where they were welcomed by the community to stay for a night, before continuing on their journey.
“So many beautiful things happened on our journey through those 10 days. We immediately turned into a big family, and we were able to talk with each other without feeling judgement,” Shalene described.
Shalene explained that the Lance Run fosters youth empowerment and cultural identity. There are certain traditional protocols that had to be followed when performing the Lance Run, such as the runner is not allowed to think any negative thoughts while holding the lance, and you are not able to come to a complete stop.
Everyone runs at their own pace, and the runner will run as far as they can, and when they need to stop, they must raise their hand and run in place with the lance until the lance is handed off to the next runner.
During the Lance Run, nobody is allowed to pass the lance, and when it is time to camp for the night, the group must place the lance in the ground, and camp behind wherever it is placed.
Other protocols were followed such as when there is a dead animal or roadkill, the runner must stop and run in place next to the body of the animal until the elder can place tobacco and pray for that animal to honour its life, and bury it in the ground, or in the bush alongside the road.
The Tony Cote Summer Games could not start until the lance arrived safely during the opening ceremonies.
“A lot of our people in the north are slowly reconnecting to the spiritual aspect of their beings because we’re so strong in our hunting, in our trapping, in our fishing, in our harvesting medicines, but we’re missing that spiritual aspect,” Shalene explained.
Shalene explained that part of the Lance Run is doing that for the youth, they are participating in pipe ceremonies, learning how to be oskapios (meaning Elder’s helper in Cree) and how to be young women, learning how to use their voices and learning how to sustain themselves with skills such as making a fire, hunting, fishing, how to harvest, and how to pitch a tent.
“This is a pathway for them to reconnect to their spiritual and cultural self, on the road to healing,” Shalene explained. “Our people are lost right now, and our world is so busy, and we’re caught up in material things, and social media, and we’re forgetting to pray, and we’re forgetting to pray and we’re forgetting to be who we are as Cree people. That’s going back to the land, that’s going back to praying and ceremony.”
Shalene said that when the youth arrived to the Battlefords, they didn’t want to go home, and they were feeling empowered by completing something meaningful for other people.
“The youth that ran with that lance, they cleared the path for all of these tribal councils, and they prayed for all the youth, and all the coaches, and all the parents, everybody that was travelling to the games, they prayed for them and asked for safe travels for them, (and) for them to have a good time at the games and to have a safe time at the games,”
When the lance arrived to the Opening Ceremonies, Chief Cook-Searson of Lac La Ronge Indian Band, handed the lance to one of Battlefords Agency Tribal Council, Chief Cheryl Kahpeaysewat of Moosomin First Nation.
The Tony Cote Summer Games began on Sunday, July 26, and ran until Friday, July 31.
