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“If it isn’t working, change it.” These are the wise words that 18-year-old speed skater Ian McPeek received from his Indigenous grandmother several years ago during a particularly challenging time in his life. The statement became his motto, giving him the confidence to switch from hockey to speed skating when he was 13 – a decision that has proved to be life changing.
Growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, McPeek has always been an avid athlete playing various sports, including hockey and baseball. In 2015, fresh off a city championship win by his hockey team, McPeek was discouraged when he and the majority of his team did not move up to a higher level, including several skilled Indigenous players. “I noticed there were fewer Indigenous kids on higher level teams and I knew many had the skills to be on those teams, including me. When I think about it now, team selection seemed to be more about nepotism and bias than skill set,” explained McPeek. “Having Indigenous heritage but having lighter skin and eyes, people don’t always realize I have this background. However, my grandma has experienced discrimination because of how she looks, which has made me very sensitive to when this is happening. I don’t want anyone to experience disadvantage based on their skin colour or heritage.”
It was during this difficult time that his grandma, Bessie McPeek, shared her winning motto with him. An Oji-Cree woman from Big Trout Lake (also known as Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug) in northern Ontario, Bessie, whose story was featured in the book “Sixties Scoop: Survivor Stories,”encouraged her grandson to know his worth and to persevere. “She is one of the nicest and sweetest people you’ll ever meet,” said McPeek. “She helped me to keep going and to look forward and see what was better for me in the long run. ‘If it isn’t working, change it.’ Hockey wasn’t really working for me, so I decided speed skating would be a good fit because my success wouldn’t rely on making a certain team. In speed skating, the harder I work, the more successful I’ll be.”
Much to the delight of his Grandma Bessie – who learned to skate on speed skates when she moved to Sioux Lookout as a young girl – McPeek has been training hard and finding success ever since. At 14, he attended his first RBC Training Ground event, where athletes aged 14 to 25 showcase their athletic abilities in front of Team Canada’s high-performance sport representatives. While he didn’t make the National Final that year, he saw first-hand the exceptional level of training the top athletes were putting in. Four years and one COVID-19 pandemic later, McPeek has poured his heart and soul into training, resulting in a spot on Speed Skating Manitoba’s provincial team and most recently, a spot among the top 100 named to the 2022 RBC Training Ground National Final. “It’s a huge honour. I want to show Indigenous athletes that if I can make it, they can too,” McPeek said.
Eden Wilson, a brake woman on Canada’s national Bobsleigh team and an RBC Olympian (RBC’s other Olympic athlete support program), echos McPeek’s sentiments, noting that representation at the top level of sport is crucial. “As a Black and Indigenous athlete, I am carving out a space for myself because I want young athletes to be able to see that there is a place for us, especially in sports that aren’t traditionally diverse,” Wilson explained. “And representation matters. More Indigenous athletes and coaches at the highest levels will mean more Indigenous youth believe it can be done. Let’s make it happen.”
McPeek is looking forward to laying it all on the line at the RBC Training Ground National Final in Ottawa on October 22nd, where 30 athletes will be named RBC ‘Future Olympians’ – he hopes to be on that list. Being in the top 30 will allow McPeek to further his training in speed skating with the hopes of making a national team and ultimately compete at the Olympics. His larger purpose throughout this journey, however, is to show other Indigenous youth that they can achieve their dreams, even in the face of adversity.
