The first Tlegohli Youth Handgames Tournament in Norman Wells exceeded expectations, according to Lynda MacCauley, one of the organizers of the event.
“The tournament was better than expected and the turnout was spectacular,” she said. “It went a cut above what we anticipated. But that would be because we had a great team behind us, who helped from the start with support until the weekend finished.”
The tournament was open to boys aged 15 and under, and ran on the weekend of Feb. 2-4 at Mackenzie Mountain School.
It was the first of its kind in Norman Wells, where handgames tournaments are not as common as they are in other communities with large Dene populations.
“For a long time handgames has been a traditional event that has been around, but in Norman Wells it was a first,” said MacCauley.
All told, 10 teams registered to play in the event, which brought the total number of competitors to 60. The teams were from Norman Wells, as well as other Sahtu communities, such as Tulita, Behchoko and Whati.
The festivities began with a feeding of the fire, which was undertaken by one of the local teams, their coach Calvin MacCauley, and community Elder Edward Oudzi.
“The atmosphere at the beginning was quiet,” according to Lynda MacCauley, as the teams from out of town trickled in, but by Saturday morning, Mackenzie Mountain School was bustling with people and full of sound.
“Saturday morning, we had quite a crowd of all ages from all different communities,” she said. “We had members from the Fort Good Hope drummers and Tulita drummers attend to drum during the tournament. We had respected Elders from the surrounding communities to come and watch our youth play. We had a lot of parents and chaperones attend with children. By the afternoon on Saturday and Sunday, the gym was packed and loud with the singing and drumming.”
“It was a great connection between Norman Wells and the surrounding communities,” she added. “Seeing everyone come together, it felt very powerful, as Norman Wells had never done this before.”
The tournament winner was a team from Tulita, captained by Colby Campbell-Modeste. The second and third place teams were both from Behchoko, and were led by Caden Cochrane and Wynter Zoe, respectively.
The prizes for members of the first-place team were Meta Quest 3 VR headsets. Second place players received Playstation 5 Spider-Man bundles, and third place players received Xbox Series X consoles. The top six teams received prizes.
“[There was] lots of cheering and screaming, lots of kids,” said MacCauley. “Everyone was having a good time.”
While tournament participants are undoubtedly enjoying their prizes, the objective of the event was to instill an appreciation for traditional Dene activities in the young people involved, particularly those from Norman Wells, where MacCauley contends “there was a shared concern over the lack of recreational activities” tailored to a growing Indigenous population.
To that end, the event also included activities like jigging and animal calls.
“In recent years, more Indigenous peoples from the surrounding Sahtu communities have relocated to Norman Wells for work or social reasons,” she said. “[This tournament] was important because tradition contributes to a sense of comfort and belonging. It brings families together and enables people to reconnect with friends and family. [These events] provide a sense of stability and help us connect with our roots. Preserving culture is essential, especially for our youth. They always say our youth are our leaders. They are important.”
This will not be the last youth handgames tournament in Norman Wells — far from it.
Alongside the event itself, MacCauley and her colleagues created the Tlegohli Handgames Association “in an attempt to restore traditional Dene culture and values in Norman Wells and to share and forge relationships between differing cultures in the community.”
The hope, she said, is that the association’s youth events will teach local young people “invaluable lessons” like sportsmanship, leadership, teamwork and discipline.