This is one of the coolest projects I've had the pleasure of working on. I started skating when I was two years old, and transitioned to hockey skates before I was five. At four years old, after public skating where I practiced skating like a 'hockey player' while still in figure skates, I saw a local hackers hockey league start warming up and to my surprise, there was a woman playing. She just so happened to be Joellene Deer, a professional women's hockey player from my small rez, Kahnawà:ke, playing for the Ste. Julie Pantheres. My stepfather confirmed that yes, girls (and people assigned female at birth) can play hockey too - my life was changed in that moment. Within a few months, I was playing Magh 1, the only one to have a bright red helmet.
Flash forward to 2021, and THE Jayna Hefford reached out to me to participate in this project. She was in charge of the Montreal region for the PWHPA, and the team wanted to do land acknowledgements before their home games. The ask was to be specific to the Montreal region and not to get too political, as land acknowledgements were a hot-button topic in Montreal that season.
The Winning Image.
