Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-18-2017 12:00 AM History of Sioux Lookout Black Hawks Hockey team, 1949-1951 Fatima Ba'abbad The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Janice Forsyth The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Kinesiology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Fatima Ba'abbad 2017 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Canadian History Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Educational Sociology Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Oral History Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, and the Sports Studies Commons Recommended Citation Ba'abbad, Fatima, "History of Sioux Lookout Black Hawks Hockey team, 1949-1951" (2017). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4519. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/4519 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract Existing literature on residential schools in Canada indicates that sports played an important role within that system and were a positive experience for Aboriginal students. However, these sporting experiences have not been analyzed from the students’ perspectives. This thesis aims to enrich our understanding of the role of sports within residential schools; the meanings former students attached to their experiences, and what sports mean to reconciliation initiatives using 1) narrative analysis of media representations of the Black Hawks team from Pelican Lake Indian Residential School during their 1951 hockey tour to Ottawa and Toronto, 2) a two-part interview process (photo elicitation and semi-structured interview) with those players. While sports were introduced for assimilative reasons, a purpose that was reinforced by media, this study shows that Aboriginal students created meanings out of their experiences that opposed those assumptions and resembled forms of resistance. Through these new meanings, students sought refuge in sports in the hostile living environment they experienced at school. Keywords Pelican Lake, Sioux Lookout, Indian Residential School, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Hockey, Sports, Assimilation, Aboriginal Athletes, Media Analysis, Photo Elicitation, Semi-Structured Interview, Resistance Narratives i Dedication To my parents, Abdulla and Fouziya. Your sacrifices, unconditional love, patience, support, and continuous confidence in me are what got me this far. You have been my inspiration all along. This one is for you. ii Acknowledgments To Dr. Janice Forsyth, you have been an incredible mentor and friend to me throughout my undergraduate and graduate years. You have challenged me to expand my thinking and truly helped me grow over the years. I am truly grateful to have a supervisor who cares, supports and encourages me to improve my work. Thank you for continuously believing in me, for guiding me patiently, and for helping me achieve my goals. I would also like to express my deepest appreciation to my parents, Abdulla and Fouziya, and my siblings, Khalid, Abeer, and Ibraheem. Thank you for all your support, motivation, patience and love during every step of the way of this long journey. You believed in me during my toughest moments and somehow always found ways to keep me motivated and positive. I could not have made it this far without you. I would also like to thank the many faculty members and professors, including Drs. Don Morrow and Kevin Wamsley, to my Examining Committee, Dr. Michael Heine, Dr. Ken Kirkwood, and Dr. Darwin Semotiuk, as well as to my colleagues, including Braden Te Hiwi and Evan Habkirk, from whom I have had the pleasure of learning. You have played a significant role in my educational experience. Finally, to my friends, this has been an extremely challenging year for me; yet, because of you, I have emerged from it happier than I have ever been. Thank you for always pushing me to my full potential, and for your unconditional love, patience, and encouragement in every step of the way. Sara Zimmo, you have been my role model since the start, and I could not have made it through the finish line without your help, advice, support, and friendship, especially in the final stages of this journey. iii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Dedication ........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... viii List of Illustrations ............................................................................................................. ix List of Appendices .............................................................................................................. x Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Sioux Lookout Black Hawks .................................................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of Purpose .............................................................................................. 2 1.3 Contribution to Body of Knowledge ....................................................................... 3 1.4 Methods ................................................................................................................... 4 1.4.1 Part 1: Inductive Media Narrative Analysis ................................................ 4 1.4.1.1 Data Sample .................................................................................. 5 1.4.2 Part 2: Interviews ........................................................................................ 5 1.4.2.1 Research Protocols ....................................................................... 6 1.4.2.2 Session 1: Photo Elicitation .......................................................... 8 1.4.2.3 Session 2: Semi-Structured Interview .......................................... 9 1.5 Limitations ............................................................................................................ 11 1.6 Delimitations ......................................................................................................... 13 1.7 Chapter Outline ..................................................................................................... 13 Endnotes ....................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... 16 iv 2 Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 16 2.1 Colonialism ........................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Aboriginal Physical Culture .................................................................................. 17 2.3 Indian Residential School System ........................................................................ 20 2.4 Pelican Lake Indian Residential School ............................................................... 22 2.5 Physical Culture at Indian Residential Schools .................................................... 23 2.6 Physical Culture at Pelican Lake Indian Residential School ................................ 24 2.7 Media Representation ........................................................................................... 26 2.7.1 Media Messages ........................................................................................ 27 2.7.2 Aboriginal Representations in Canadian Media ....................................... 30 2.8 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada ......................................... 36 Endnotes ....................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 49 3 Analysis of the Media Representations of the Sioux Lookout Black Hawks Hockey Tour .............................................................................................................................. 49 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 49 3.2 Inductive Media Narrative Analysis ..................................................................... 49 3.3 Findings ................................................................................................................