Two Weeks Until North American Indigenous Games in Halifax

There are only two weeks left until over 5,000 athletes and participants representing 756 Indigenous Nations from across Turtle Island (North America) arrive in Kjipuktuk (Halifax) to compete in the 2023 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). The excitement is building, and Pomerleau is ready!  

2023 marks the tenth edition of NAIG and Pomerleau’s first time sponsoring the event. NAIG will host 16 sporting competitions in venues across the greater Halifax area, Millbrook First Nation and Sipekne’katik, including three traditional Indigenous sports - 3D archery, box lacrosse and canoe/kayak. Unlike other sport competitions, the goal of NAIG is to create spaces for participants to celebrate their culture. 

For Pomerleau, this partnership is more than a sponsorship. We believe that reconciliation through sport and culture provides an amazing opportunity to create understanding, foster Indigenous self-determination and forge bonds.   

The recently-published 2022 Integrated report, which combines our business review with our environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance report, describes our commitment to Indigenous relations, one of our six priorities. Our plan with respect to Indigenous relations revolves around one key goal: to adopt an engagement policy and a concrete roadmap to maximize Indigenous participation in the projects we build. In the last decade, we have carried out around 30 construction projects located in Indigenous communities or in collaboration with them. 

We will be presenting the 19U basketball competition at NAIG, which will be held at Saint Mary’s University’s Homburg Centre. There is a connection here too: we specifically chose this building as some of our Atlantic colleagues were instrumental in building this state-of-the-art health and wellness centre in 2015. A firm believer that personal health and wellness are key to building healthy communities, Pomerleau is proud that a facility associated with its name is a focal point for health and wellness initiatives on campus and will now be welcoming athletes from all over North America.  

We are also sending over 30 employee volunteers to the event, all of whom had to compete orientation and cultural awareness training and commit to volunteering a minimum of 18 hours. We are so proud of their involvement and generous gift of time. Pomerleau is also loaning equipment to help facilitate the competitions and operations. 

This Mi'kmaq word best sums up the games: Pjila’si (Jill-ah-sea). Translated into English it means: Welcome, there is a seat for you.