Indigenous sports and recreation programs and partnerships across Canada: A literature review and environmental scan
November 2021
The National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health (NCCIH) is one of six funded Champions in the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) two-year project related to the Common Vision for increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary living in Canada: Let’s Get Moving. As part of this initiative, the NCCIH has developed a resource entitled Indigenous sports and recreation programs and partnerships across Canada: A literature review and environmental scan.
This initiative and resource are grounded in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s Calls to Action around sport and reconciliation and the articles within the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to enhance Indigenous Peoples’ right to physical health, sports, and traditional games. This literature review and scan focuses on physical activity, recreation, and sport opportunities for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, families, and communities. Specifically, it provides:
- an overview of the landscape of Indigenous physical activity, recreation, and sport organizations from the community and regional levels to the national, provincial, and territorial levels;
- a review of the facilitators of and barriers to participation in physical activity, recreation, and sport in Indigenous populations, with a special focus on Indigenous youth;
- a summary of existing guidelines or best practices for improving participation in physical activity, recreation, and sport among First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples; and
- a synopsis of gaps in research and programming.
Decolonizing physical activities, spaces, and practices, and infusing sport and recreation with traditional, land-based, culturally appropriate, practices and Indigenous ways of knowing and being are critical for strengthening First Nations, Inuit, and Métis health and well-being moving forward.
Read the report (PDF)