Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation welcomes 2015 Pan Am Games
More than six thousand athletes. Forty-one participating nations. Thirty-six sports. Seventeen days.
And one spirit connecting it all.
The 17th Pan American/Parapan Am Games, the world’s third-largest international multi-sport Games, begin today in Toronto and other southern Ontario communities.
The Pan Am Games use the motto “united we play.” And the official host First Nation for this international spectacle – the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation – invites athletes from all over the Americas to celebrate the collective power of one.
“Our theme for these Games is Embrace the Spirit,” says Chief Bryan LaForme. “Embrace the spirit of healthy competition, and embrace the spirit of kinship with each other.
“We welcome Pan Am/Parapan Am Games athletes to our traditional lands for sport,” adds Chief LaForme, “and an opportunity to forge closer relationships among all 41 participating countries.”
The Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation officially kicked off the Games this morning with a traditional Three Fires Ceremony in Toronto, following an Indigenous Welcome Gala on Thursday evening at the Fort York National Historic Site.
As part of its commitment as the host First Nation, the Mississaugas of the New Credit Cultural Village will also be open throughout the Pan Am Games, from July 10 to 26, and the Parapan Am Games, from Aug. 7 to 15.
Enthusiasm for these Games has been building since May 30, when the Pan Am torch arrived in Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre, and was met by canoes filled with members of the four recognized First Nations who accepted the flame to the Mississaugas’ traditional territory.
In June, the Pan Am flame was carried by Mississaugas of the New Credit torchbearers Cameron Sault and Ryann Laforme – and on Day 20 of the Pan Am torch relay, the flame arrived at the Games’ official host First Nation community, with a celebration co-hosted by Waneek Horn-Miller, an Aboriginal Olympian and 1999 Pan Am gold medallist in water polo.
At Enbridge, we work hard to safely deliver the energy that helps fuel your quality of life – and we’re also committed to supporting Aboriginal communities where we work, live, and play.
We’re supporting the Mississaugas’ participation in the Pan Am Games, as official First Nation host, with a $20,000 investment – which includes a pancake breakfast following today’s Three Fires Ceremony, and sponsorship of the cultural village.
“As official host First Nation at the Pan Am Games, the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation are doing wonderful work – by presenting the opportunity to share culture and tradition, along with values such as sportsmanship and fair play,” says Eric Prud’Homme, Senior Manager of Stakeholder and Aboriginal Engagement in Enbridge’s Eastern Region.
