Exploring Indigenous Influences in Hockey with Naim Cardinal

Overview

Delivery method

Online

Duration

1.5 hours

Audience

All HC and PHAC Employees

Description

Naim Cardinal is nehiyaw (Cree) and a proud member of Tallcree Tribal Government (First Nation) located in Treaty 8 territory of Alberta. Naim grew up in Fort Vermilion, AB. which is approximately 650km north of Edmonton; however, he is currently living as a guest in the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the syilx (Okanagan) Peoples in Kelowna, BC. He is a husband to his wife, Melanie, who is Secwepemc, and the father of three children Amelia, Augustine, and Alden. Naim is a former high school teacher who currently works at UBC Okanagan as an Educational Facilitator and works to educate students, staff, and faculty about Truth and Reconciliation as well as Indigenous culture, history, and perspectives.

Naim has been collecting hockey cards for 25 years as he started as an 8-year-old in 1989 but took a break from 1994 until 2004. After a decade of being back in collecting hockey cards, in 2014, he decided to focus his energy into putting together a collection of one rookie card of every player of Indigenous (First Nations, Metis, and Inuit) descent. Since then, his collection has been dedicated to documenting and sharing the accomplishments, histories, experiences, and ancestry of each player via his website. His hockey card collection has opened the doors for many opportunities to educate others and to create a special set of Indigenous hockey cards with Upper Deck called the First Peoples Rookie Cards. Naim also views his collection as a way of connecting to the community and inspiring Indigenous youth by sharing the stories of the Indigenous hockey players who have found success inside and out of the game of hockey.