SHANAI MANY GREY HORSES
Shanai is a member
of the Kainaiwa (Blood) Tribe. She is 15 years old and attends Cardston High School where she is a scholar athlete in volleyball and basketball. She competed in the Alberta Winter Games in 2012, where her team brought home the Gold Medal. She also excels in academics and rodeo. She is extremely grateful to her parents and grandparents for their unconditional love and support in helping her achieve her goals
Who was your inspiration when you were growing up?
My mom always motivated my sister and me because she was such a great athlete. She always told me that education is the most important thing. Some kids that are athletic don’t have anyone to motivate them, so I am really lucky. My mom is always pushing us to do our best and to give 110 per cent. She said her dad was always there supporting her in everything she did, so that is exactly what she does for us. She has always believed in us and wants the best for us andI know that we are very important to her. She doesn’t want us to waste our talent, and knows that we can go very far in our athletics and education.
Another person who inspired me was my volleyball coach Darrin Parkin on Team Alberta in February 2011. He was so good to my teammates and me, and he inspired me to be the best volleyball player. Our Zone 1 team won gold atthe Alberta Winter Games 2012. It felt so good when my coach told me, “You go up there to the podium to receive the trophy.” I was the only First Nations player in the whole tournament, so it was an honour to represent Kainai and my people. He was very kind and wanted me to be recognized.
Our coach always taught our team to be family, to help each other out. He also said volleyball was a mental game as well as a physical game. So if you get down, you have teammates that will tell you to stay focused and stay positive. He inspired me so that one day I want to coach young talented volleyball players. When I am a lot older, I want to help the athletes I coach feel how he made us feel as a team. He was super cool and laid back, but he sure pushed us hard and we won GOLD!
What is the role of a leader in the community?
People know the leader is going to inspire them. In sports I can compare that to a captain of a team. You can’t be negative as a captain; it just never works. Never get mad at anyone on your team and just don’t ever be negative.
As a leader of a community it’s important that they show how much they care for all the people. It is important that they also have the best interest for their people, so that the people can trust and feel that they are being heard. If the leader doesn’t take a look at what is needed to make their community better, then how will it grow?
What is your vision for your community?
My vision is to see a lot more kids being involved positivelyin our community. I also see more jobs for the kids to have real-life experiences, and more traditional values put into our youths’ activities. The more culture-related, the better. I think it would be nice if we had activities for children, so kids could start being busy by doing things like cleaning up garbage— something fun that helps the community looks nice. They are building a sports centre and an ice rink so that kids can do fun things and stay out of trouble.
What advice would you give to young people in the community?
Not to get discouraged. Don’t listen to other people ifthey have negative things to say. If they are jealous of you, never mind them. Just do what you want in your heart. Find something that you really like or you are really good at and push yourself to reach a goal. Goals are always within your reach; all you need to do is think of one and go with it. Ask for help if you need help, and don’t waste your time just sitting around doing nothing. My mom is always telling my sister and me that nobody can make you do anything; it is up to you if you want to succeed and be the best you can be. I would like to pass on that advice too.
What are some major issues that our young people are facing today?
Youth go in opposite directions. Especially youth that experience peer pressure. There will be kids who are really good at sports and then they get peer pressure. Alcohol and smoking are not good, especially when they are really good athletes. You see an opportunity wasted. I wish there could be someone there to show them the better way. I wish there was someone to support them better so that they can see that the choices they make will have consequences. I see so many youth that think it’s cool to drink alcohol and smoke. If you have too much freedom and nothing to do, that is when kids get into trouble.
Some kids don’t have family support. My mom teaches and coaches at the reserve Kainai High School and she hoped that she would have seen more people from the community come out and watch the kids play on the teams. There is a lot of opportunity for the kids to play on the team sports at Kainai High School, but if they don’t have support from family and friends then they don’t feel too good.
Kainai could be such an athletic school and some kids want to play sports but no one is there to drive them. So kids just have to sit and then they get out of shape. There should be more community activities happening for them.
Why is leadership important for a successful community?
It’s important to keep us together, to keep peace and no fighting. Leadership is supposed to make sure that all the people are taken care of. Leadership makes sure that all the people are heard and all the ideas are looked into. I always hear the older people talk about how the leaders just want that position to use that power to get ahead and help only certain people. I hope that isn’t true. I only wish that people vote for the leader that is trustworthy and cares truly for the people. That is how a community will be successful—if the leadership is fair and open to new ideas.
Why is education important for our young people?
Our mother keeps telling us to stay in school—just don’t give up. We had an elder come to our school and talk to the students in our Blackfoot class. He had a computer. “Hereis a computer,” he said. “If you have an education you can get things like this. Look at how nice it is. Or you can be on streets, and you won’t get what you want.”
You need education. If you want to play sports you needto get an education. If your grades are low then sports can help you to get better grades. I keep telling my mom, “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.” She says that’s okay that I don’t know yet, because I still have a couple years to figure that out.
Right now my mother and my sister tell me just to start thinking about what I love to do. Eventually I will find out what I love to do, but for right now, since I will begin Grade 11 in the fall, I need to do very well in my classes. I did very well in my Grade 10 year and I believe my sports helped with my thinking in school. Sports exercised my mind in a way, to help me concentrate. I know that my future includes either playing college or university basketball or volleyball, but my education must come first. I also believe that sports will find its way into what career I choose. Either sports or something very adventurous.
