Author Description

"A History of Excellence is a direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation's call to action #87, which encourages all levels of government, including Indigenous sport bodies, to tell the stories of Indigenous athletes, coaches, and builders. This book surveys the athletic landscape in Manitoba, beginning in the 1890s and continuing to the present. Excellence serves as a primary account, telling the stories of Manitoba's athletes, coaches, and builders, highlighting their never-ending contribution to the realm of sport in Manitoba. Included in this history, spanning 130 years, are vignettes that discuss sports and the Tom Longboat awards, within a residential school context, identifying the ways in which these chronicled elements have been repurposed to celebrate the Indigenous spirit. In response, this book is divided into four sections: Athletes, Coaches, Builders, and Teams, each of whom were born, have lived in, or have a connection to Manitoba. This survey includes individuals who live in Winnipeg or and in communities such as Cross Lake Band, Peguis First Nation, Sandy Bay First Nation, Island Lake, St. Laurent, Norway House Cree Nation, and Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. Notable athletes and coaches also include Reggie Leach, Joe Keeper, Angela Chalmers, Theoren Fleury, Flett brothers, Jocelyn Larocque, Kerri Einarson, Kent Brown, Arnold Asham, and the Frontrunners."--