Photo by Marcel Vander Wier
TRADITIONAL GAMES 鈥� Daniel Walker, a member of Team Yukon, hides an object in his hands, forcing his opponent to guess which one, during a Hand Games match Wednesday at the Arctic Winter Games. The open men's Yukon team won gold in the event.
For many, the events included in the Dene Games and Arctic Sports contingent of the Arctic Winter Games are mysterious and unknown.
FAIRBANKS 鈥� For many, the events included in the Dene Games and Arctic Sports contingent of the Arctic Winter Games are mysterious and unknown.
Yet, competitions such as snow snake, head pull and blanket toss remain a very important tie to tradition for the biennial multi-sport tournament.
"They are the essence of the Arctic Winter Games 鈥� they are the 麻豆社区of the show,鈥� Gael Marchand told the Star yesterday.
Marchand is the Chef de Mission for the Yukon始s Arctic Sports and Dene Games contingent.
"The point of the Arctic Winter Games is to develop friendship across circumpolar regions, and these games are the native games of these regions,鈥� he said. "They embody circumpolar spirit.鈥�
Yesterday, the Dene Games group earned three team medals to add to the Yukon始s impressive list, including two gold medals in open male and junior female Hand Games.
The open male team includes Daniel Walker, Doronn Fox, Justin Smith and Matthew Brown, while the female team roster consists of Maddy Allen, Brittney Brown, Natane Primozic and Kirsten Smith.
The juvenile female team 鈥� made up of Ashton Clooten, Jessa Frost-Kluguie, Jasmine Johnson and Sarina Primozic 鈥� picked up a silver.
The game is based on sleight of hand as one team始s members attempt to conceal tokens in their hands while the other team tries to pick the correct hand in order to be the first to win 12 sticks in a best-of-three format.
The game is played in the presence of drummers and includes plenty of elaborate hand signals and gestures.
"The people who you don始t catch win sticks,鈥� explained Fox, the captain of the Yukon始s open male team.
Fox said he enjoys competing in the Dene Games for its link to tradition.
"Dene Games is the circumpolar North coming together for a traditional sport that始s part of the Dene people,鈥� said Fox, 24. "It was used for hunting techniques. They used these games to find the most skilled hunters, the strongest in the group.鈥�
While it始s nice to win medals, that始s not necessarily what these sports are about, Marchand said.
"It始s good to have the medals and everything, but the main part is that it始s very friendly competition,鈥� he explained. "People are helping each other. They all know each other from one competition to another. It始s very community-oriented.鈥�
The Dene Games are a popular year-round event in the Yukon, he added.
"There are a lot of Hand Games tournaments in the Yukon,鈥� he said. "It is very well-known in the Yukon. Most of the First Nation people grew up with it, so they know.鈥�
Still, Marchand said he spends a lot of his time at the Arctic Winter Games explaining how sports are played to different spectators. The native sports are not typically played south of the Arctic.
"It始s a northern game, that始s why,鈥� Marchand said. "We need to expand Arctic Sports始 presence. I think we need to go into schools during gym time earlier on, so the kids are exposed to it.鈥�
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