Aboriginal Participation

VANOC’s goal is to achieve unprecedented Aboriginal participation in the planning and hosting of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. We’ll do this by developing strong relationships with Aboriginal peoples – First Nations, Inuit and Métis – and the support of our Partners.

Aboriginal participation is a key element of our sustainability mandate and is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the value it brings to the Olympic Movement.

We’re working closely with our partners, including the Four Host First Nations, to encourage Aboriginal people across Canada to participate in as many areas of the 2010 Winter Games as possible, be it as athletes, volunteers, employees, entrepreneurs, artists and performers, spectators or cultural ambassadors.

The role of Indigenous peoples in the Olympic Movement
In 1999, the IOC adopted Agenda 21: Sport for Sustainable Development, which includes the objective to “strengthen the inclusion of women, youth and Indigenous peoples in the Games.”

“One of our greatest challenges is that Indigenous participation is relatively new to the Olympic Movement – there is no template we can follow – no clear indicators for how we measure our success. Indigenous participation in past Games, such as Calgary and Salt Lake City, has focused primarily on ceremonies and cultural programs. We plan to go beyond that, to set the bar higher, with the hope that future Organizing Committees can be inspired and learn from our experience.” – Gary Youngman, Consulting Director, Aboriginal Participation

Learn about our programs and the extraordinary opportunities for Aboriginal people to get involved and become part of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games experience through:

This section will be updated as new opportunities become available. Sign up to receive e-mail updates about Aboriginal participation or other topics such as ticketing, volunteering or cultural programs.