The Origins of Canadian Hockey: The Missing Indigenous Link

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Central Argument
Central Theme
Conclusion
Work Cited

Introduction

In their article, Paul W. Bennett explores the origins of Canadian Hockey from the perspective of Indigenous studies and the impact of the ethnic makeup and the colonial of the country that shaped the sport as it is known today. Paul W. Bennett is a Founding Director and Lead Researcher at Schoolhouse Institute in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Mr. Bennett dedicated most of his studies to the area of education, with one of the latest and most prominent works being the book The State of the System: A Reality Check on Canada’s Schools (2020). Thus, the author of the article has delved deep into the history of Canada, examining the dynamic processes of cultural exchange and transformation and discovering how it influences various phenomena in the country’s social life.

The origins of hockey, according to the article, most likely date back to First Nations, as there is evidence of the people of the Mi’kmaw maritime region engaging in the sport that could be classified as the Indigenous form of hockey. The game was called Duwarken, and it was played with a ball on ice, with a “round stone” being “hit on the ice by a trick, most likely with a spruce root” referred to as “Duwarkenaught” (Bennett). What is crucial to note is that the game existed in the Indigenous community of Mi’kmaw at the time or shortly after the first contact with Europeans, which could have resulted in the transferring of the tradition and the later assimilation and Europeanisation of the sports.

Central Argument

The author’s main argument embedded in the article is that the conception of hockey’s origins inevitably changes when colonialism’s role is considered, and the emphasis is placed on studying Indigenous practices and traditions. Bennett refers to what the Mi’kmaw people called “two-eyed seeing,” Etuaptmumk, which is a practice of approaching knowledge from two perspectives – the “Aboriginal way of knowing” and the “best in the Western way of knowing” (Bennett). The practice could be highly beneficial because it considers two sides and experiences, resulting in the most informed and well-developed perspective on the issue at hand.

Central Theme

The origins of hockey that it is linked to the sports played by the Mi’kmaw people represents an important part of Indigenous history and comments on the fact that many phenomena that are common in Canadian society today have roots in Indigenous culture. For instance, surviving hockey sticks made of darkened yellow birch date to the period between 1633 to 1666 (Bennett). These sticks were found to be forerunners of modern hockey sticks, which points to the importance of considering the value of Indigenous culture, calling for the use of “two-eyed seeing,” which was examined earlier. As new discoveries are made, it becomes easier for ethnologists and anthropologists to get closer to explaining the cultural transmission process that occurs throughout society’s development. The discoveries associated with the Mi’kmaw game show a metamorphosis of an old practice into the sports that are known today. Notably, the metamorphosis was never intended to be immediate; as society changed, there were slight changes made in the sport. The original Mi’kmaw game transforming into a hybrid known as alchamadijk, which was the precursor to what is called ice hockey today.

The author underlines the fact that embracing the “two-eyed seeing” perspective could lift the veil that covers the Indigenous contribution to Canada’s national game of hockey in the history of the country after the 1900s. When such a veil is lifted, it becomes possible to examine in full both the Indigenous and Western (British North American) contributions to the origins and early development of the sport under question (Bennett). The principle of “two-eyed seeing” could be highly valuable in the study of the origins of various phenomena that have roots in Indigenous practices and traditions, which is a cornerstone of the integrative transcultural and collaborative world. Bennett’s article is an illustration of the importance of the aboriginal contribution to the popular consciousness of Canada. Therefore, the research opportunities that open as a result of the “two-eyed seeing” perspective are vast due to the immeasurable influence of the Indigenous culture on modern society, even though such an impact has been overlooked for a long time.

Conclusion

To conclude, Bennett’s article on the origins of hockey and its evolution throughout the history of Canadian society emphasizes the value of the Indigenous culture. An important question to be answered is the following: “How can the “two-eyed seeing” perspective initially proposed by Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall could enrich the historical and anthropological discourse of Canadian sports?” As the country has as colonial past, it makes sense that some of the practices, such as hockey, originated in Aboriginal groups and later developed into what they are today. The “two-eyed seeing” perspective is a valuable approach that the author proposes to use in examining the topic at hand, encouraging combining the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and the advantages of Western knowledge and diverse ways of knowing.

Work Cited

Bennettt, P. W. “Reimagining the Creation: The ‘Missing Indigenous Link’ in the Origins of Canadian Hockey.”Acadiensis: Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region, Web.

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The Origins of Canadian Hockey: The Missing Indigenous Link

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