Hosted by KPE, the webinar featured Indigenous scholars examining the cultural and historical significance of movement within their communities and the influence it has had on Canadians for generations.
Indigenous scholars and community leaders came together for Movement as Medicine: Indigenous Perspectives on Physical Culture, an online panel held in recognition of Indigenous History Month hosted by the University of Toronto's Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education.
The discussion explored the important role physical culture continues to play in the everyday lives of Indigenous community members while encouraging attendees to think more deeply about movement and connection.
Hosted by Michael Mahkwa Auksi, coordinator of Indigenous Initiatives in KPE’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office, the panel featured Tricia McGuire-Adams, associate professor at KPE and a Tier ll Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Health Resurgence; Lynn Lavallée, a professor and strategic lead of Indigenous Resurgence in the Faculty of Community Services at Toronto Metropolitan University; and John Waaseyaabin Hupfield, assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at York University.
Early in the conversation, speakers reflected on the ways Indigenous physical culture continues to shape everyday life in Canada.
“Kayak, canoe, toboggan,” Auksi said while discussing Indigenous contributions to physical culture. “Things that Canadians do in the winter, but where do they come from? It’s important to just take a second and acknowledge those contributions.”
For McGuire-Adams, movement carries a much deeper meaning than physical activity alone. Drawing from her work with Indigenous communities and Indigenous-led fitness spaces, she spoke about the importance of relationships and collective support.
“There’s a different element of community, of humour, of relationality that happens when it’s from an Anishinaabe or Indigenous-led space,” she said. “Once we tap into that community sense of belonging, it then resonates outwards to other areas of our life.”
That sense of connection became a central theme throughout the discussion as panelists explored the role movement can play in healing from the impacts of colonialism and displacement.
Hupfield, whose research examines powwow as a site of learning and embodied knowledge, described movement as something deeply connected to kinship and community.
“The question isn’t just about movement and feeling good from doing that,” he said. “It’s about connection.”
Reflecting on his experiences in basketball and powwow communities, Hupfield explained how movement spaces often become places where relationships are formed and sustained across generations.
“All the basketball teams I’ve played on, they become like your family,” he said. “Our definitions of kinship. It’s very similar.”
Lavallée also spoke about the enduring relationships formed through sport and ceremony. Her comments focused on the holistic understanding of wellness that continues to guide many Indigenous approaches to movement and physical activity.
“Your ceremony becomes your ceremony family,” she said. “Your sport becomes your sport family.”
She later added that movement continues to hold tremendous importance within Indigenous communities because of its impact on every aspect of wellbeing.
“We know sport and movement and physical activity is important for us,” Lavallée said. “We know that it enhances our spiritual health, our mental health, our physical health, our emotional health.”
McGuire-Adams emphasized the importance of creating ethical and accountable ways for Indigenous perspectives to exist within teaching and research spaces, and stressed that institutional commitments to reconciliation must be supported by meaningful action and structural change – a sentiment echoed by all panelists.
Beyond systemic challenges, the conversation frequently returned to the importance of grassroots spaces and community-led initiatives.
“The grassroots is where the magic happens,” Hupfield said. “That’s where belonging happens. That’s where cultural identity is formed.”
Audience questions later shifted the conversation toward opportunities for non-Indigenous attendees to respectfully engage with Indigenous cultural spaces and events. Panelists encouraged people to attend powwows, connect with friendship centres and support Indigenous-led programming in their local communities.
“Just like now you hear about EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and all these other therapeutic modalities,” said Hupfield. “It's basically like what happens at a powwow. You come out of there feeling refreshed, feeling renewed. And it is from that movement, or being close to that movement.”