Decolonizing Sport

by Janice Forsyth (editor), Christine O’Bonsawin (Editor), Russell Field (Editor)

Decolonizing Sport tells the stories of sport colonizing Indigenous Peoples and of Indigenous Peoples using sport to decolonize. Spanning several lands ― Turtle Island, the US, Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand and Kenya ― the authors demonstrate the two sharp edges of sport in the history of colonialism. Colonizers used sport, their own and Indigenous recreational activities they appropriated, as part of the process of dispossession of land and culture. Indigenous mascots and team names, hockey at residential schools, lacrosse and many other examples show the subjugating force of sport. Yet, Indigenous Peoples used sport, playing their own games and those of the colonizers, including hockey, horse racing and fishing, and subverting colonial sport rules as liberation from colonialism. This collection stands apart from recent publications in the area of sport with its focus on Indigenous Peoples, sport and decolonization, as well as in imagining a new way forward.

Genres: Indigenous, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published December 12, 2023

Reviews

[Clover · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
Great essays on different aspects of how colonization, sports, and Indigenous peoples all connect.

Sports, for me, is something often overlooked. This anthology was interesting as it gives each author the floor to explain how colonization and sports has affected them directly. We know of the mascots and team names, but Natalie Welch really opens your eyes to the issues and hurdles faced by the people who it directly harms. Then Taylor McKee and Janice Forsyth share Eugene Arcand's story of playing sports while being imprisoned in residential school and that a smiling child does not show that "good things" came from those places of abuse.

There's really so many interesting essays within this anthology. At first it wasn't anything I expected, but it was everything it needed to be. The beginning started out a little scholarly, but don't be discouraged. Each writer has a unique voice and was easy to absorb. It leaves you with a lot to think about and consider, which is the best and most necessary thing about this.

This is one I want to put on my own shelf and pour over it with stickie notes and highlighters. I believe it'll take a few readings and each time I'll find new things to take away. I'm so glad my local library has a copy, but it's worth purchasing too.

Check your local library or request that they purchase this! It's full of knowledge and is a perfect introduction to the topic.