Tk’emlups launches bid for 2027 North American Indigenous games

Tk'emlups te Secwepemc is aiming to host the 2027 North American Indigenous Games.

The games could bring up to 6,000 youth athletes from 756 Indigenous Nations across Canada and the U.S. to Tk'emlups and Kamloops.

“We are extremely proud and excited to be selected to represent British Columbia as we compete against western provinces and territories to host the 2027 North American Indigenous Games," Kukpi7 (chief) Rosanne Casimir said in a news release. "This is a historic opportunity for our people and our Nation, to host Indigenous athletes from across North America, and to showcase our beautiful land and Secwépemc culture.”

The Tk'emlups bid for the games beat out all other bids in B.C., but it will still have to compete against other regions before the location of the games is finally decided in July 2023, Casimir said at a press conference today, Nov. 25.

She did not say which other bands have announced a bid for the games in B.C.

Athletes aged 13 to 19 will compete in 16 different events. If Tk'emlups wins the overall bid in July, it would be the third time the Indigenous games would be hosted in B.C.

The games were hosted in Cowichan in 2008 and in Victoria in 1997.

“The opportunity to host the 2027 North American Indigenous Games would continue to expand on our long-standing relationship with Tk'emlups te Secwepemc and other surrounding Indigenous communities,” Kamloops mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson said in the news release. “It would be a notable event which will again bring our communities together in celebration of sport and reconciliation.”

This year the Indigenous games are to be hosted in Halifax, which had been delayed since 2020 due to COVID-19.

“It would be an honour to welcome the Games in British Columbia, and I look forward to the next steps in the selection process," B.C. Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Minister, Lisa Beare, said in the news release. “The Province is pleased to support Tk'emlups te Secwepemc and the City of Kamloops, and their bid to host the North American Indigenous Games in 2027."

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