"Willie Littlechild arrived in the Mile High City on Saturday from Switzerland, where he shared his global vision of sports for indigenous people around the world.

Littlechild, a co-founder of the North American Indigenous Games, is at the forefront of creating the foundation for a World Indigenous Nations Games, which would use sports to bring attention to the issues of 300 million indigenous people from all corners of the planet.

His vision: �It's a celebration of life through sport and culture for indigenous peoples, tribes and nations.�

Other sports enthusiasts joined Littlechild on Saturday on Denver's Auraria Campus for an educational symposium, as some 7,000 indigenous athletes gathered in Denver to participate in the North American Indigenous Games opening ceremonies on Sunday.

Littlechild - an honorary chief of the Ermineskin Cree Nation and former member of the Canadian Parliament - and others at the symposium continually spoke of the �movement� many of them feel swept up in.

�You remind us of the importance of the North American Indigenous Games to the well-being and quality of life of indigenous people and how these games contribute to the pride in our culture,� Bruce Miller, a student adviser at the University of Manitoba, told the chief."

Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Denver games set to propel vision of world indigenous competition (The Missouilan 7/2)

Relevant Links:
Jodi Rave - http://www.missoulian.com/jodirave

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