September 30, 2022
Lancers hockey team reflects on eye-opening trip of truth and reconciliation
Windsor, Ont. - The weeks leading up to the start of a new season are often filled with plenty of emotion and a flurry of activity, but for the Windsor Lancers men's hockey team ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, those two notions stemmed in large part from what they were doing off the ice instead of at the rink.
Photo Gallery
Just a few weeks back, the Lancers ventured across the country to visit the First Nations communities in the Nicola Valley impacted by the 2021 wildfires and floods, which proved to be an "eye-opening" experience that led the team to a great deal of learning, reflection, and understanding across their 10 days away.
Following a great deal of planning from head coach Kevin Hamlin to help the humanitarian trip come to fruition - a venture that involved partnering with Unifor Local 444, the First Nations Emergency Service Society, the city of Merritt, British Columbia, and the Merritt Centennials Jr. A hockey team - there was an eagerness from the team to make it happen. And that eagerness turned into active involvement and support when they reached their destination.
Upon beginning their journey out West, the team was greeted with a ceremony that included prayer, songs, speakers, and more, with people from the five surrounding First Nations communities welcoming the Lancer student-athletes.
Throughout their trip, the team was able to lend a hand in several construction projects, including rebuilding a shed, insulating a basement, and rebuilding a 1,000ft corral. And while those acts were all important in their own right, fourth-year team captain Mason Kohn and the rest of the Lancer players were quick to realize that there was a lot more to their efforts than the tangible items being built.
"Us being there and being able to reach out to the community and support the Indigenous peoples was probably more important than the actual physical things that we were able to do," said Kohn.
"The interpersonal stories they had shared to us, talking about their childhood - some of them had been in the residential schools - we were all very attentive and we all wanted to learn. And I thought that they taught us a lot of things about their culture and how we can come back to Windsor, come back to our friends and families, to discuss these things and be able to make a difference.
"I feel like the relationship that we cultivated there was very fruitful for both parties. We learned a lot."
One particular stop along their journey that brought a lot of that learning was when the team visited the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, where just over a year prior, 215 unmarked graves were discovered. It was a visit that, understandably, was an emotion-laden one when it came to better understanding the notions of truth and reconciliation.
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"One thing that caught me off guard was just how real it was," said Brady Pataki, a third-year forward for the Lancers. "Seeing the graves right beside each other, 30 in a row, made it feel real. When you see it on social media, you don't know as much about how it actually feels, but you could feel how real the pain was, how the community still felt."
Holden Wale, a second-year Windsor defenceman, echoed the sentiment. "Being down at the grave site, we all huddled around in a circle and did a little ceremony there, the Indigenous people sang a few of their songs, and just being a part of that made me realize how unfair it was and being a part of that was pretty surreal."
Kohn, who was in British Columbia when the news originally broke in 2021 about the Indigenous children in Kamloops, commented that "everyone was doing stuff in the community, everyone was thinking about it, and it's easy to say you felt it, but being there was a heavy feeling".
"Listening to the stories of the survivors as they spoke was something really powerful," added Kohn. "It ensured that we all could come back to Windsor and discuss what had happened and to move forward, somehow, to find a way to rebuild the trust."
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Because at the heart of the trip was the intangible, and at times, unexpected takeaways that sparked a desire to do more, to reconcile, and to bring what they learned back into their own communities moving forward.
"For us as players, being on the trip, one of the things we did was educate ourselves about the traumas and everything that has happened," said Kohn, "so that's one way our hockey team can reconcile and find truth in the whole process, but there are so many other calls to action and I think that we'll continue to build and learn."
The team has followed through on those continued actions and reconciliation, with members of the team undertaking various efforts since returning to Ontario, helping sell items like cookbooks and orange shirts to raise funds, while also using National Day for Truth & Reconciliation as a further opportunity to come together as a team and as a community to show support.
"The way forward is through truth and reconciliation," said Kohn. "I learned about some of this stuff last year in my law program, but then going to Merritt and meeting with the Indigenous community and hearing it firsthand, it was very profound and leaves an impact."
As the Lancer players recount their time out West, it is clear that the team was impacted in many ways, through the places they visited, the lessons they learned, and certainly, the people they met. And as they continue their efforts toward truth and reconciliation in their own community, they also carry with them another key takeaway from the trip - gratitude.
As Kohn explains, the Indigenous community was always thankful for the team's help, but beyond that, "they were thankful for the land, thankful for the animals that we all share the earth with, the trees, and everything, so little things like that just make you more aware that we share these communities with the rest of the world and we should be thankful every day".
Pataki's gratitude, meanwhile, stemmed from what he took away from the experience, which is that there are good people in this world.
"I really felt a sense of community in our little team and it was really good to work with everyone. I felt like everyone was really supportive, really appreciative, really happy."
And stemming from this notion of teamwork, Wale came away with a better understanding that for a true difference to be made and reconciliation to occur, it will take all of us.
"It's in everyone's hands to start to make a change, to start to spread awareness, and to really help out the Indigenous community".
Photo Gallery
Just a few weeks back, the Lancers ventured across the country to visit the First Nations communities in the Nicola Valley impacted by the 2021 wildfires and floods, which proved to be an "eye-opening" experience that led the team to a great deal of learning, reflection, and understanding across their 10 days away.
Following a great deal of planning from head coach Kevin Hamlin to help the humanitarian trip come to fruition - a venture that involved partnering with Unifor Local 444, the First Nations Emergency Service Society, the city of Merritt, British Columbia, and the Merritt Centennials Jr. A hockey team - there was an eagerness from the team to make it happen. And that eagerness turned into active involvement and support when they reached their destination.
Upon beginning their journey out West, the team was greeted with a ceremony that included prayer, songs, speakers, and more, with people from the five surrounding First Nations communities welcoming the Lancer student-athletes.
Nia:wen/Thanks to the T'kemlups community & staff at IRS who greeted & taught & provided us w ceremony - so honoured & powerful to pay respects to those little babies. We must all make a difference for peace @WindsorLancers hockey team are so lucky for this opportunity #215 pic.twitter.com/JeYprZ4WYl
- Bev Jacobs (@bevisiting) August 29, 2022
Throughout their trip, the team was able to lend a hand in several construction projects, including rebuilding a shed, insulating a basement, and rebuilding a 1,000ft corral. And while those acts were all important in their own right, fourth-year team captain Mason Kohn and the rest of the Lancer players were quick to realize that there was a lot more to their efforts than the tangible items being built.
"Us being there and being able to reach out to the community and support the Indigenous peoples was probably more important than the actual physical things that we were able to do," said Kohn.
Another beautiful day in Nicola Valley - time to get back to work! Today's projects include fence building, mudslide clean-up, insulating a crawl space, and drywall. @LOCAL444UNIFOR @fnessbc @UWindsor @WindsorLancers #LancerMHKYhelpingBC pic.twitter.com/u96hdH7aKh
- Windsor Lancers Men's Hockey (@WindsorMHKY) August 30, 2022
"The interpersonal stories they had shared to us, talking about their childhood - some of them had been in the residential schools - we were all very attentive and we all wanted to learn. And I thought that they taught us a lot of things about their culture and how we can come back to Windsor, come back to our friends and families, to discuss these things and be able to make a difference.
"I feel like the relationship that we cultivated there was very fruitful for both parties. We learned a lot."
One particular stop along their journey that brought a lot of that learning was when the team visited the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, where just over a year prior, 215 unmarked graves were discovered. It was a visit that, understandably, was an emotion-laden one when it came to better understanding the notions of truth and reconciliation.
"One thing that caught me off guard was just how real it was," said Brady Pataki, a third-year forward for the Lancers. "Seeing the graves right beside each other, 30 in a row, made it feel real. When you see it on social media, you don't know as much about how it actually feels, but you could feel how real the pain was, how the community still felt."
Holden Wale, a second-year Windsor defenceman, echoed the sentiment. "Being down at the grave site, we all huddled around in a circle and did a little ceremony there, the Indigenous people sang a few of their songs, and just being a part of that made me realize how unfair it was and being a part of that was pretty surreal."
Kohn, who was in British Columbia when the news originally broke in 2021 about the Indigenous children in Kamloops, commented that "everyone was doing stuff in the community, everyone was thinking about it, and it's easy to say you felt it, but being there was a heavy feeling".
"Listening to the stories of the survivors as they spoke was something really powerful," added Kohn. "It ensured that we all could come back to Windsor and discuss what had happened and to move forward, somehow, to find a way to rebuild the trust."
Because at the heart of the trip was the intangible, and at times, unexpected takeaways that sparked a desire to do more, to reconcile, and to bring what they learned back into their own communities moving forward.
"For us as players, being on the trip, one of the things we did was educate ourselves about the traumas and everything that has happened," said Kohn, "so that's one way our hockey team can reconcile and find truth in the whole process, but there are so many other calls to action and I think that we'll continue to build and learn."
The team has followed through on those continued actions and reconciliation, with members of the team undertaking various efforts since returning to Ontario, helping sell items like cookbooks and orange shirts to raise funds, while also using National Day for Truth & Reconciliation as a further opportunity to come together as a team and as a community to show support.
"The way forward is through truth and reconciliation," said Kohn. "I learned about some of this stuff last year in my law program, but then going to Merritt and meeting with the Indigenous community and hearing it firsthand, it was very profound and leaves an impact."
As the Lancer players recount their time out West, it is clear that the team was impacted in many ways, through the places they visited, the lessons they learned, and certainly, the people they met. And as they continue their efforts toward truth and reconciliation in their own community, they also carry with them another key takeaway from the trip - gratitude.
As Kohn explains, the Indigenous community was always thankful for the team's help, but beyond that, "they were thankful for the land, thankful for the animals that we all share the earth with, the trees, and everything, so little things like that just make you more aware that we share these communities with the rest of the world and we should be thankful every day".
We're very grateful to help coordinate the building of a new corral at 14 Mile Ranch in Shackan with @WindsorMHKY and @UniforTheUnion. Thank you Maynard and Martin Joe for your hospitality! #FirstNations #floodrelief pic.twitter.com/w1Z85vYtIQ
- FNESS - First Nations Emergency Services Society (@fnessbc) September 8, 2022
Pataki's gratitude, meanwhile, stemmed from what he took away from the experience, which is that there are good people in this world.
"I really felt a sense of community in our little team and it was really good to work with everyone. I felt like everyone was really supportive, really appreciative, really happy."
And stemming from this notion of teamwork, Wale came away with a better understanding that for a true difference to be made and reconciliation to occur, it will take all of us.
"It's in everyone's hands to start to make a change, to start to spread awareness, and to really help out the Indigenous community".
