All the Way My Life On Ice (N) by Jordin Tootoo

Author:Jordin Tootoo [Tootoo, Jordin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Canada
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

WHEN I RETURNED to Brandon after the tournament, it felt like everything had changed. In every arena I played in after the World Juniors, every barn in The Dub, people were applauding me, even when I was on the visiting team. Fans would stand around waiting for me after games. Oh my God, it was unbelievable. I was getting gifts from other teams, congratulating me, when the Wheat Kings would go to their rink to play them. It was amazing.

But the best reaction came from other First Nations people. I remember going to play in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and three-quarters of their fans were Aboriginal people from the reserves around there. They gave me a gift from the reserve; it was one of their traditional blankets with some special designs on it, plus some sweetgrass. When I scored a goal the place erupted, even though I was playing for the Wheat Kings. After the game there were so many fans waiting around our bus that we needed extra security. I was fucking loving it.

I’m very thankful to have a following like that among Aboriginal people. I can’t really express those feelings in words. The way I like to say thank-you to them is to actually visit them and make time to sign autographs until the last person has got his autograph or picture. I don’t want people to be shy to come up to me. This profession doesn’t last forever and those kinds of things don’t last forever. I want to enjoy it while it’s happening and thank the Aboriginal people for letting me be a role model to them. Little do they know that they’re what inspires me. I want to be a better professional for them, both on and off the ice.

I’m an Inuk, but I identify strongly with all First Nations people. I think there are a lot of similarities among us, no matter what part of the country we come from. We are very loyal to our traditions, our culture, and our people. We’re small town–oriented individuals who have a simple life and enjoy it, rather than having all of these materialistic things. We draw a lot from our roots. When I go to these Aboriginal communities and reserves, those are the similarities I see to the place where I grew up.

I’m not really a political person but I do believe that First Nations people run as one, and we just want to be treated equally. It doesn’t matter what colour skin you have or where you come from. We’re all human beings and we want to be treated the way everyone should be treated—and that’s fairly and equally, and not being judged.

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