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WEDNESDAY, August 13, 2014
NEWS BRIEFS Cultural celebrations at Kwah Hall Jesse Cole Caledonia Courier
The Nak’azdli Band First Nation will be holding a cultural afternoon celebration on Thursday, Aug 14. The celebration which features traditional drum, dance and song will be held in Kwah Hall, beside the Nak’azdli Band office in Fort St. James. The celebration is open to the public and takes place from 12 p.m. until 7 p.m. At 1 p.m. a game of Lahal, a traditional indigenous game, will be played between attendees. The cultural afternoon celebration comes as a way to celebrate and bring some levity to the community after a series of loss and grief workshops that have taken place over the last few weeks in response to the loss of Nak’azdli community members and elders. Alexandra Luggi, who is one of the organizers of the event says she’d like to make the afternoons a monthly event in the future. The event will celebrate First Nations culture, traditions and serve as a way to brighten the spirits of those in the community dealing with the recent losses of loved ones.
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Taking home the gold B.C. wins the North American Indigenous Games across the board Jesse Cole Caledonia Courier
The 2014 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) were a year of firsts for British Columbia. It was the first time British Columbia’s volleyball team won the gold medal, the first time a team had won the medal count and the prestigious John Fletcher award and it was Kristi Howell’s first time coaching. “This years NAIG was my first time coaching,” said Howell. “I’ve always played volleyball, so I know a lot about it but I’ve never actually coached,” she added. The 2014 NAIG were held in Regina, Sask. in late July and saw over 500 athletes attend from British Columbia. Howell, who took charge of the 2014 girls volleyball team, said that over 80 girls from British Columbia tried out for the team, which is more than they’ve ever had before. Howell said that the NAIG flew around 500 athletes from British Columbia to Regina as well as providing hotel accommodations for the athletes. Howell led her team to their first ever gold medal win at the NAIG and did so without her team being defeated
Kristi Howell, coach of the 2015 U19 girls volleyball team holding up the gold medal her team won in this years NAIG. Photo by Jesse Cole
once throughout the entirety of the 2014 games. “It was amazing,” Howell said of her accomplishments. “I’ve played at the NAIG twice before as an athlete but I’ve never come close to winning gold or even placing in the medal count, so to win as a coach, and my first time coaching at that, was a very big accomplishment for me.”
Howell’s team managed to not only win a gold, but British Columbia as a whole also took home first place in the medal count with a grand total of 161 medals. British Columbia’s win was thanks in part to Howell’s gold medal win, which tipped the scales in British Columbia’s favour after a tie with Saskatchewan. British Columbia’s win of the John Fletch-
er award also added to the years prestige and marked the first time in the history of the NAIG that a province has won both the medal count and the John Fletcher award. Howell said that going from athlete to coach was no easy transition, “coaching was one of the hardest things I’ve done, there were a lot of things I had to factor in and
sometimes that’s hard to juggle.” But Howell says it was her experience participating in NAIG that inspired her to give back and get involved as a coach. “The reason I chose to coach came from the experience I had when I went to the NAIG myself,” Howell said. “I had a very good experience and I believe it helped to make me
the person I am today. It opens your eyes to a bigger world and other possibilities, so being able to give back and help other girls have a similar experience was something very important to me.” The NAIG takes place every three years and while not certain she will continue to coach in the years to come she says she is definitely considering it.
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