Jackson Harmon, Team Saskatchewan, Under 16 boys basketball in Halifax, N.S. Photo credit to Jackie Harmon
By: Nicole Goldsworthy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SASKTODAY.ca
Saskatchewan athletes are coming home with the most hardware from NAIG.
Team Saskatchewan won 175 medals, 51 gold, 63 silver and 61 bronze.
Several northeast athletes are bringing home a multitude of medals.
Of the 10 North American Indigenous Games, Saskatchewan has come home with the top medal count seven times, showcasing Saskatchewan Indigenous athletes.
Team Saskatchewan consisted of 430 Indigenous athletes competing in the following sports: traditional Indigenous sports of canoe/kayak, archery and box lacrosse, plus soccer, softball, swimming, volleyball, wrestling, beach volleyball, rifle shooting, badminton, baseball and basketball.
Jackson Harmon, member of the under 16 boys, basketball team is coming home without a medal but with many memories he will remember fondly. Harmon is from Hudson Bay, who is a member of Metis Local 114. Harmon said the opening ceremonies were his highlight. The under 16 boys basketball team won one of their three games and he was able to play some good minutes in each of the games. He said the experience was amazing, other than the flooding that shut Halifax down on Saturday.
To find out about all team Saskatchewan winners, click here for the full listing.
Halifax 2023 North American Indigenous Games (gems.pro)
The Closing Ceremonies were cancelled due to the devastating rain that began to fall on the Friday at the end of the Games.
Between 200 and 250 millimetres of rain was dumped along Nova Scotia’s South Shore, across the Halifax area and into central and western parts of the province essentially putting a halt to many of the sport events during the games.
A provincewide state of emergency declared on Saturday will remain in effect until Aug. 5, and on Sunday federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair approved a request from the province for continued assistance.