Come test out your slapshot speed against some experienced Native goalies and players. Reaction time, accuracy, and speed have been integral skills when thriving alongside the land. Even intuition, sensing where the puck is going to go based on past experiences, muscle memory, and senses beyond the objective, allow for heightened awareness with all that is around you.

To help pollinate & spread nutrients, hockey pucks can be traced back to animal feces, with Indigenous hockey players learn the evolution of pucks and the connection to Land.

Elders, relatives & communities from across Turtle Island have created games not just for sport but to incorporate teachings of survival and connection for people of all ages. Come experience different traditional Indigenous games, from fish pull to high kick, snow snake to stick pull, to learn about the science of hunting, intuition, and teamwork.

Blackfoot games will be led by Jason Plain Eagle from Piikani. Arctic Games will be led by Peter Daniels.

What is the connection between skateboarding and Indigenous science? Although skateboarding was derived without direct connection to Indigenous science, a lot of Indigenous science is reflected within the sport. Join Cousins Skateboarding to learn about and experience balance, body/spirit, and community while trying out some boards at their mobile skate park.

Indigenous people shared stories through pictographs on rocks and cliffs, the rocks and mountains were sacred places for connection, relationality, and knowledge sharing. Try out some bouldering skills in Sparks new “Extreme Sports” gallery and learn about how to expand your relationship with rocks and the mountain Ancestors, while learning about mental health, body awareness, and balance.

Have you ever wondered how bows and arrows seamlessly fly through the air, almost defying physics? Often silent and perfectly balanced, arrows embrace the aerodynamic knowledge of bird relatives through their design & feathers physics. You’ll get an opportunity to see how they were used traditionally and its impact on modern sports

Need some energy to participate in all the land-based activities? Come make an OG power bar that sustained many Indigenous communities through long hunting trips or over a cold winter for thousands of years.

Pemmican is the original powerbar, often made from ground dried bison jerky mixed with bison fat and berries. The pectin from the berries and antifungal properties within the mint helped preserve the meat.

Pow Wows, round dances, and ceremonies entangle ancient protocols and science told from the land and sky. Frequencies within seasonal changes alongside languages of grasses, birds, and bison have taught humans over thousands of years the importance of connection, movement, and rhythm.

Learn some pow wow moves and the meaning and depth of intention behind each beat, hop, and tap.

This is not a “simple guessing or probability game,” but brings together communities to share knowledges, stories, and science. Some say the game was learned from the animals or the Ancestors, but build important skills such as intuition and trust, focus through distraction, and teamwork and competition.

Come test your skills of perception and deception with a mini hand games tournament.

Save your kokum’s basement drywall and some play some mini sticks at Spark! Whether to reminisce about your childhood or encourage your kids to get moving or practice their aim, grab a mini stick or two, and challenge your cousins to a game or two.

Humans around the world have different preferences for food and utensils specific to our connections to land and culture...and guess what, so do fish!

Try out your hand, or should we say hook, at choosing a lure that reflects rivers, insects, water currents, and fish personality traits, to catch a fish in Spark’s mini Indigenous science pond!

Children's activity, but open to all ages.

A curated selection of short Indigenous sport and game films will be screened throughout the evening in the Infinity Dome.
Program details will be announced closer to the event date .