The traditional indigenous sport has been revived in the Ochapowace First Nation

A traditional sport was revived in the Ochapowace First Nation late last week, with a goal of expanding the game for Native Americans across the province.

“Double Ball” moved to the fields of Kakisiwew School on Ochapowace. The activities were led by the school’s Land Based Learning teacher, Lamarr Oksasikewiyin.

The students were given a week of practice, but for many it was their first time playing the sport competitively on the field.

Five classes from neighboring communities such as Whitewood and Kahkewistahaw traveled to participate in the tournament.

Oksasikewiyin said that the sport is traditionally only played by women in the area, so they decided to host the tournament for the junior high school girls.

Oksasikewiyin described the sport as similar to lacrosse or stickball. However, “double ball” predates both sports.

As the tournament resumed on Thursday, Oksasikewiyin said the intensity also increased, culminating in the final between Whitewood and Kahkewistahaw.

“Some of the teachers said some of the girls were shy at the home gym,” Oksasikewiyin said. “But once they got out of here they got super aggressive and they got really involved in the sport.”

One goal of Oksasikewiyin was to connect this sport with Indigenous culture, something that meant a lot to Whitewood’s Kaley Starr.

“It’s really fun today. It was an intense game when we played, it was tough – but it was really fun,” explained the ninth grade student.

The game involves contact, but students were told to keep it reasonable. According to Oksasikewiyin, historically there has traditionally been no injury breaks when the game was played – they continued that at the tournament.

However, a major push from the organizers was to teach the value of sportsmanship.

“That was probably the most important part because a lot of girls got hurt,” Oksasikewiyin said. “Some of them were shaken in the field or wrapped up by the willows there. In the end, they basically risked everything.”

Oksasikewiyin said he hopes the game becomes established and continues to grow throughout the province.

“This is our game, this is our sport,” he said. “We want people to play it more because we can contribute.”