PIERREFONDS | 10 of the 16 players on a West Island Junior B hockey team are from Nunavik.
This beautiful story is that of the Natturaliit Academy team. This idea originated in the minds of Paul Parson and Danny Fafard, a Quebecer who spent about ten years in Kuujjuaq and helped Parson set up his program.
The goal behind it? Promote healthy lifestyle habits among young people in Nunavik through hockey and study.
The young Inuit on the team have all come south to further their post-secondary studies and they find themselves in Pierrefonds to play hockey.
Connection
Since Danny Fafard has more ideas, he leaves the keys of the house to Nicolas Kulula-Lance and Tuniq Berthe, two former players of the program who are now coaches.
“It’s safe to connect with the players, we have an established connection with the players and can communicate the message in Inuktitut.” [est] more direct and better received,” explains Kulula-Lance, who comes from a slightly different background.
He left the north at the age of 11 when his family settled in L'Île-Perrot. It should be noted that his mother is Inuit and his father is from Témiscamingue.
“The goal of the program is to come to the South to pursue post-secondary studies, but that is a big challenge. In ice hockey there is a very motivating aspect of being active and involved in the community,” explains the 22-year-old young man, who is continuing his sports studies at the University of Sherbrooke.
integration
It's a huge culture shock for any young person who leaves their northern community to move to concrete Montreal. Even Nicolas, who came earlier, experienced it.
“It was a very big culture shock and anyone experiencing it for the first time can share it with the team because they are not the only one in their situation,” he explains.
His deputy, Tuniq Berthe, who did not speak French and attended a French-language school when he arrived in the south, had the same experience.
“I was very lucky to be able to play hockey with my Inuit compatriots because when I arrived in the south I played with French and English speakers.
“I found a form of comfort and, most importantly, a sense of belonging that I hadn’t had in previous years.”
Photo Pierre Paul Poulin
The sauce takes
As mentioned previously, there are a few young people from the West Island who are not Inuit on the team and things are going well.
“This year it is much better because we have players who are more open with each other. Everyone seems to be open-minded,” says Nicolas.
We know that keeping people together can be difficult at this age. Is this a problem the team is having?
“Pantoute, the group stays together,” says Nicolas enthusiastically.
And what does it look like on ice? This means a team is doing well and is in 3rd place in the 19-team league.
Off the ice, Hockey Lac St-Louis ensures there are no spills. A young man who told them to return to their igloos after a game learned this the hard way by being suspended for his comments.
Natturaliit Academy's mission is educational, but there are great values behind it too.
“We recently had an enriching activity,” emphasizes manager Danny Fafard. We met homeless people near a subway station.”
On a cold December day, the young people were able to distribute coffee to men who wanted it to warm themselves up.
This makes sense as support is an important value in Inuit communities in general.
Danny Fafard Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin
surcharge
And the young people who are part of the Natturaliit Academy team all have one thing in common: they want to return and help their respective communities.
Coach Tuniq Berthe is currently studying administrative sciences at Collège Montmorency. He hopes to have his own business one day, but he has other ambitions.
“I want to help the young people there and show them a path and be a contact person for them. I also want to teach hockey to young people.”
Young Mary-Jane Dora Qinuajuak, who prefers to be called MJ, is just 18 years old and arrived at the end of the summer to study at John Abbott College. She doesn't know what major she will study yet, but she has several areas of interest.
“I want to be a businesswoman, have my own company, and I also want to be a lawyer and a coach because we have a lot of young people at home.”
legacy
What these young people have in common is the desire to remain anchored in their heritage. Coach Nicolas Kulula-Lance experiences this situation almost all year round and misses Quaqtaq, the village where he returns in the summer to visit his brother.
“It’s really important to stay close to my heritage. Most of the year I am in school and away from my community, I am almost a loner, I don't speak Inuktitut and I have no connection to my culture.
“When I come back to hockey, can speak in Inuktitut, talk about hunting or aspects related to the North, I come here to connect with who I am. It’s fun to return to my northern world.”
Danny Fafard is impressed by the way the young people are adapting to their new surroundings.
“I take my hat off to them because they have adapted to their new surroundings and they are very resourceful.”
Tuniq Berthe Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin
Put to the test
The story of Tuniq Berthe, who is also the team's coach, is interesting because he took an unusual and courageous path.
“I came to Collège Bourget in the fourth secondary school, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself. I also wanted to get a better education that would allow me to give back to my community.”
He has come a long way and overcome all obstacles.
“I didn't really speak French, but I went to a French school, used Google Translate, it worked, I made French-speaking friends. It's good to speak several languages, we are in Quebec, I am Quebecois and I would like to be able to speak my language, French and English.
“It was an experience that opened my eyes and mind and made me realize that I can do much more than I imagined. Many people stay in their comfort zone, it is very difficult to explain the problems that people in the north face.”