Spirit North charitable organization is uplifting Indigenous youth through sport across Canada

Over 18,500 students have been involved in Spirit North’s various programs across Canada since 2017.

A charitable organization built on empowering Indigenous youth through physical activity, Spirit North partners with communities and the schools within them to promote healthier living and improve students’ well-being by bringing new sporting opportunities.

Founded by two-time Olympic medal-winning cross-country skier Beckie Scott, who last took silver 20 years ago at Torino 2006 and is of European ancestry. The idea for the non-profit came a decade after retiring from competition.

While serving as an ambassador for a small learn-to-ski program and visiting various Indigenous communities across northern Alberta, Scott’s impetus was in Kikino, a Métis settlement roughly 185-kilometres northeast of Edmonton.

As the principal of Kikino school showed her around, a lone cardboard box sat empty in her office, catching Scott’s attention. There, a young boy would come and hide whenever he was afraid.

Wanting him to participate with the rest of the class, the principal and Scott got him on a pair of skis that afternoon. 

After he stepped off and glided down a hill, he threw his arms into the air and laughed. It was the first time, according to the principal, that she ever heard him do it.

“That was the moment [Spirit North began],” Scott recalled. “How do I go home and say, ‘this is not my problem?’

“The vision for it, which was to bring sport to kids who didn’t have access, started that day.”

Leadership change, expansion

In 2024, Spirit North would undergo a change in leadership, with Scott stepping down as CEO and assuming the role of founder, with Gary St. Amand taking over.

Spirit North’s other shift would be expanding beyond cross-country skiing, and bringing more sports to Indigenous youth.

Alongside mainstream sports like basketball and soccer, Spirit North’s roster now includes a wider array of activities. From mountain biking to Powwow dancing to Indigenous games like double ball, Spirit North’s list of offerings remains ever-growing.

Beyond those activities, food and clothing drives, as well as Elder gatherings, have been hosted by the organization. Across the country, annual festivals are hosted by Spirit North.

WATCH | The positive effect of Spirit North in getting kids outdoors:

From British Columbia to Ontario, as well as the Northwest Territories, the non-profit has seen considerable growth. In Alberta alone, Spirit North participation rose from 4,451 students to 7,326 between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.

“We want to, and have always wanted to meet communities where they’re at, and deliver services that the communities want and need and feel are valuable,” Scott told CBC Sports.

When the non-profit evaluated its programs for its impact report — which encapsulated the last academic year — three pillars formed its criteria: relationships, inclusion, and Two-Eyed Seeing.

First coined by Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall in 2004, Two-Eyed Seeing is the act of “learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledges and ways of knowing, and to use both these eyes together, for the benefit of all.”

For Spirit North, partners such as Sun Life and Canadian Tire Jumpstart, and numerous donors, allow for it to continue walking alongside communities and bring more activities to their youth.

But for those participating in Spirit North programs, local leaders and educators are paramount to their success in getting outside and learning something new.

Involvement in Mînî Thnî community

In Mînî Thnî, a Stoney Nakoda Nations community situated in south-central Alberta between Canmore and Calgary, community members have noticed Spirit North’s positive effect on its youth.

“There were hardly [any] kids going to school back then. Not many kids were participating,” Rashaun Powderface said.

“Then Spirit North started coming, and 1769601430 that’s all the kids ever want to do.”

Powderface, who began skiing with Spirit North in the sixth grade, was one of the first members of the organization’s ski team. Three years ago, he became a youth leader, teaching kids between the ages of 13 and 16 how to cross-country ski for an after-school program.

Stktkcxwiłp, an 11-year-old athlete who also learned how to cross-country ski with Spirit North, has gone on to compete alongside her peers over the last few years at events like the Alberta Cup. Come February, she’ll go on to compete at the Alberta Winter Games in biathlon.

With a prepared note for CBC Sports, she shared her experience with the organization:

“My first time skiing, I was in grade one at a ski family event hosted by Spirit North. I can recall my înâ [mom] saying she tried once, but we could all learn together,” the note read.

“Cross-country skiing serves [as] my remedy, my medicine. When I’m outdoors in this manner, I experience a sense of strength and quality and authenticity.”

Her mother, Ptâyedu Wiya, also encountered Spirit North for the first time at a family event, and now serves as a community program leader. Also from the Stoney Nakoda Nation, she reflected on her own experience with the non-profit.

“I feel like we’re the first generation to break cycles, and now, alongside our children’s generation, we are actively healing with Spirit North,” she said. “And I think that’s what keeps me going. Seeing them heal through that without really noticing it themselves.

“Watching our children ski together, Îethka kids laughing, learning and finding confidence on the land,” Wiya added.

“Moments like these remind me why this matters.”