The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame has expanded the Indigenous inductees exhibit at the Hall of Fame. The Hall now features an expanded permanent exhibit dedicated to Indigenous athletes and builders from Saskatchewan and this month the exhibit has a new addition — a dedicated display tablet with 5,400 words telling the stories of some of the province’s great Indigenous athletes.
You can read the contents of that tablet here to learn more about these stories, but we also invite everyone to come and experience the exhibit in person.
In addition to the newly expanded Indigenous inductees exhibit, the Hall of Fame continues to offer Indigenous Legacies in Sport, an outreach educational program to students across the province. The Hall of Fame has also partnered with the University of Saskatchewan to create a display case and video kiosk celebrating Saskatchewan Indigenous athletes and their achievements. This exhibit is on permanent display in the Physical Activity Complex at the U of S’s College of Kinesiology in Saskatoon.
This fall Ray Mitsuing will become the 11 individual Indigenous inductee in the Hall of Fame. Mitsuing will be inducted posthumously as the first chuckwagon racer in the Hall of Fame after a great 36-year career where he qualified to compete at the Calgary Stampede for 36 consecutive years. In 1992 he won the Aggregate Championship at the Calgary Stampede and also earned the fastest time award there three times. He won the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association championship seven times during his distinguished career. He finished in the top 10 on the CPCA Tour in each of his last 12 seasons.
Ray Mitsuing will be inducted into the SSHF in 2024.
Paul Acoose, Colette Bourgonje, Tony Cote, Alex Decoteau, David Greyeyes, Jacqueline Lavallee, Jim Neilson, Claude Petit, Fred Sasakamoose, and Bryan Trottier have all been inducted into the Hall of Fame as athletes or builders.
While National Indigenous Peoples Day is an ideal time to celebrate and share these stories and resources, reconciliation is an ongoing process and the SSHF continues to work year-round to preserve and share these stories and history.