Alwyn Morris

Waneek Miller-Horn

Alwyn Morris

When he held an eagle feather from the medal podium at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Alwyn
Morris held the hopes, pride and sense of accomplishment of Canadians in general and Aboriginal
Canadians in particular. The Kahnawake Mohawk won Gold in the two-man 1,000 metre kayak event
and a bronze medal in the 500 metre event. The eagle feather represents honour, friendship and life.
Alwyn Morris has done much to symbolize all three. After 13 years with the Canadian National
Canoeing Team, he served as a role model for the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program.
His poster for the program, featuring the famous medal pose, encouraged Aboriginal youth to dream,
succeed and never give up. A recipient of the Order of Canada in 1985 for outstanding service and
achievement, he has established the Alwyn Morris Education and Athletic Foundation and continues to
coach kayaking, canoeing, and hockey for the youth of Kahnawake. He has served with the Canada
Games Council, the Canadian Sport Secretariat, and was a Special Policy Advisor for Aboriginal People
and the Constitution to the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark during the Meech Lake and Charlottetown processes. He
was later Special Advisor to the Minister of Natural Resources. He received a National Aboriginal
Achievement Award in Sports for both his accomplishments and the light of his example.

Waneek Horn-Miller

Waneek Horn-Miller proudly bears her Mohawk heritage like a medal of honour alongside the
numerous medals she has won for her athletic achievements. Born in Kahnawake in Quebec,
Waneek Horn-Miller is a champion swimmer and co-captain of Canadas Womens National Water
Polo team. She started swimming competitively at the age of seven and competed between 1982
and 1997. She was an Ontario Age-Group Champion in 1989 and won 20 gold medals at the
Indigenous Games between 1990 and 1997 including one for rifle-shooting. In 1991, she
participated in the Sacred Run Canada, a trek that stretched from Victoria, British Columbia to
Kahnawake, Quebec. She joined the Sacred Run North America the next year, logging many miles
on the Fairbanks, Alaska to Santa Fe, New Mexico route. Ms. Horn-Miller started playing water polo
in high school in Ottawa in 1989 and made the All-Star teams for both Junior and Senior Women
from 1991 to 1999. She was voted Most Valuable Player of the Canadian Senior Womens water polo
national championships in 1999. Her team placed in the top six in three FINA World Aquatic
Championship Tournaments and won the Gold Medal at the 1999 Pan-American Games. Ms. HornMiller recently graduated from Carlton University with a degree in political science and will proudly
lead Canadas Olympic team at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney .

1. How did these great Indigenous

leaders unite their peoples?
These two leaders united their people by bringing
Indigenous people together to cheer for someone on a
world stage.

2. What caused division among their

peoples?
There is always the constant battle of Indigenous vs NonIndigenous athletes in sports. There is the racism, the
name calling and lack of resources for training for
Indigenous people.

3. How did these great Indigenous leaders

rise above all obstacles to secure success?
These leaders overcame all the obstacles by achieving
great success in the Olymics, World Games and Pan-Am
Games.

4. What role did their Indigenous identity help secure

personal, and professional success for their peoples?

Having Indigenous identity gave these Athletes a strong

support system that helped them achieve their goals.

Questions
1. What sport is Alwyn Morris known for?
2. What sport is Waneek Miller-Horn known for?
3. How do sports help Indigenous people?