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Indigenous, Olympic hockey player to share story at ATC Cultural Festival
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Youth across the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region will be able to hear the inspiring story of Brigette Lacquette on Sept. 8th at the Athabasca Tribal Council (ATC) Cultural Festival.
In partnership with Wood Buffalo Sport Connection, Lacquette will speak to youth during the Festival at Snye Point Park from 4:30-6 p.m. She will answer questions, sign autographs and take photos.
Lacquette is the first First Nations hockey player to be named to Canada’s Olympic team and recently has been hired by the Chicago Blackhawks as the first Indigenous woman to scout for an NHL team.
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Lacquette grew up in Manitoba in a small Métis community. She started skating at the age of four. With no ice arena in her hometown, her dad built a rink in their backyard.
When she was five years old, she knew she wanted to play organized hockey. Lacquette’s family would drive an hour each way to the nearest indoor rink.
Lacquette faced racism, taunts and hateful comments from opposing players, fans and parents but she continued to follow her dream.
She went on to play hockey at the University of Manitoba and at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) level at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Lacquette first played for the Canadian Women’s National Team in 2013 at the Four Nations Cup tournament. In 2015 she played her first IIHF Women’s World Championship with team Canada, winning a silver medal.
In 2018, she cracked the Canadian women’s Olympic hockey team roster, becoming the first Indigenous woman to make the team.
The ATC Cultural Festival is free to attend with family-friendly arts and cultural programming held over the four-day event from Sept. 8-11th.
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