The Carleton women’s rugby team spread awareness about residential schools and fostered a sense of unity by wearing orange tape and taking a knee during the national anthem.
The act of solidarity took place ahead of a game against the McGill Martlets on Sept. 25, but the team has a long history of supporting social causes, including raising awareness for breast cancer.
Following the game, Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was held on Sept. 30 to honour lost children and survivors of residential schools. Canadians were encouraged to wear orange clothing to commemorate the day.
When the idea to kneel was first proposed by a teammate to Lauryn Walker, a tighthead prop for the Ravens, she said the choice was easy for her to make. As a Black woman, Walker said Indigenous support for the Black Lives Matter movement was significant.
“I felt like it was only right for me to stand with them, knowing that many [Indigenous Peoples] stood with us over the summer,” Walker said. “For me, it was definitely a no-brainer to kneel during the game.”
Many players also wore orange tape and wrote “Every Child Matters” in Sharpie on their legs in reference to the recent uncovering of more than 1,300 unmarked graves at former residential schools.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) estimates between 4,100 and 6,000 children died in residential schools, although experts and Indigenous communities say the number could be larger.
“[There are] a lot of the things that we stand for, whether it’s Black Lives Matter, whether it’s standing for Every Child Matters in residential schools, or whether it’s breast cancer,” Walker said. “We were encouraged by a very supportive community.”
Athletes kneeling during national anthems have often received backlash. After former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt for the U.S. anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality, former U.S. president Donald Trump referred to those who knelt as a “son of a bitch.” Kaepernick went unsigned after the season in what many saw as the league blackballing him.
However, the Carleton team said it has received no complaints since kneeling in September.
“We’ve probably gotten more questions about the topic, which helps bring to light the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which was what we were trying to honour,” said David Luong, head coach of the women’s rugby team.
Luong said the team’s actions during the game were entirely organized by the athletes. As coach, he said he saw his role as facilitating conversations that took place off the field.
“We have many players on the team with different experiences,” Luong said. “My role is to hopefully create a safe environment where they are comfortable in sharing and educating other members of the team.”
Luong said he believes the goal of spreading awareness has been achieved through ongoing conversations among the athletes and community members as a result of the team’s actions.
“I think the fact that we are having a conversation about this helps put the issues to light,” Luong said. “We are able to continue having the conversation, which leads to more education on the matter.”
Daylon Courchene, head coach of the Carleton baseball team, is Cree and said he saw a substantial shift in residential school awareness in the past year.
“I think that it has increased and it’s started even more with the first [National Day for] Truth and Reconciliation,” Courchene said. “It’s still continuing. I still see orange shirts all around campus [and] the city of Ottawa.”
Courchene said he believes Carleton has done a good job creating a safe environment for Indigenous Peoples. He cited the Centre for Indigenous Initiatives and the offering of Indigenous programs as examples, but also said the actions taken by the rugby team are equally important.
“I think this just shows how super inclusive schools are and the student-athletes and students in general want to continue to raise this awareness,” Courchene said.
Walker said she believes sports has a way of uniting people of all backgrounds. That sense of unity on the field and in the stands reminds her to keep fighting and raising awareness and hopefully bring a piece of that unity into the community, she said.
“Yes, we’re here to play rugby, but we’re also here to build relationships. We’re also here to change people’s lives. We’re here to inspire. We’re here to educate,” Walker said. “I feel like any way we can do that is something that we’re going to take part in.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
