Halifax, Nova Scotia is known as Kjipuktuk to the Mi’kmaq, the original inhabitants of the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. It means “great harbor,” and next week the city will be harboring over 5,000 youth athletes for the 2023 North American Indigenous Games.

The event, in its 10th edition, is held every three to four years and features 756 Indigenous nations from all across the continent. For the 2023 games, Team Mni-sota will have a total of nine teams competing – six in basketball, one in volleyball and baseball, and a team of six golfers, plus one individual athlete.

The first games were held in Edmonton, Alberta in 1990, and Team Mni-sota last competed at the NAIG in 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, where they brought five basketball teams and took home a gold, silver, and two bronze medals. The games were cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, the games will run from July 15-23. If you’d like to catch the action next week, including the opening and closing ceremonies, you can watch live streams of the games at youtube.com/@NAIG2023. You can follow team Mni-sota on their Facebook page as well at facebook.com/TeamMN2023NAIG.

By — Charlie Yaeger