[Reporter] Rilee ManyBears knows nearly every kilometre of Siksika First Nation
It's where he first discovered his love for running, encouraged by his late grandparents
[Rilee] They also told me these oral stories about us being messengers back in the day
you know us running from one tribe to another, just to deliver messages
[Reporter] With each run, a sense of pride on his ancestral land
but it's sports he says, that saved his life
[Rilee] Growing up in a very dysfunctional environment
just being around the surroundings of drugs and alcohol
teen suicide and family violence
and you know poverty
you know sports played a huge role and it still plays a huge role to my life
still this day because
you know it was my escape from that environment
[Reporter] that environment, the legacy of residential schools
[Rilee] I'm a third-generation residential school survivor
you know I was affected from
my uh grandparents trauma and also my parents trauma as well
I asked them you know what were their ways and how they cope with residential school
they said you know it was sports
[Reporter] Rilee took that advice and ran with it
he brought home medals from the North American Indigenous Games
and gold in the 8,000 meters at the 2015 World Indigenous Games in Brazil
that experience pushed him to chase a new goal
qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics
but as the pandemic took hold
training had to take a back seat
the 25-year-old pivoted to helping his community
now he spends his days here at the local sportsplex
that currently operates as a vaccination clinic
still, he holds on to those Olympic dreams
[Rilee] What motivates me is the Indigenous people
especially the people of Siksika
they always tell me you know just to never give up
try hard
[TV announcer] I'm tremendously happy for both these guys...
[Reporter] but few indigenous athletes have represented Canada at the Olympics
and Tokyo will be no different
at least one athlete who identifies as Indigenous will wear an Olympic jersey for Canada
Mohawk athlete Jillian Weir will compete in the women's hammer throw
the Canadian Olympic Committee says it can't confirm how many of its athletes are Indigenous
because it doesn't currently track that data
we've seen hardly any movement in the elite sports sector
none really at the level that we're talking about right now on the international stage
[Reporter] Janice Forsyth, director of Indigenous Studies at Western University
says Indigenous athletes in Canada face many barriers
racism is the obvious one
and racism happens in many forms
and is meant to make people feel unwelcome and push them out of sport
organized sport is extremely expensive
especially when we talk about competitive organized sport at the elite level
in many Indigenous communities, many Indigenous families simply can't afford to engage in competitive sport
[Reporter] the other big issue is access
for many remote or fly-in Indigenous communities
competition, access to coaching and training at facilities
is simply out of reach
these are barriers Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller has advocated to change throughout her career
I've gone to hundreds and hundreds of Indigenous communities actually all over North America
and I know the talent that exists
and I go there and I inspire and
and talk about being an Olympian and then I look at them and go
but there's no system there's nowhere for you to go
to realize that.
You live in a fly-in community
or you -- and I just think that's wrong
[Reporter] following victory at the Pan Am games in 1999
Horn-Miller competed at the Sydney Olympics on Canada's first women's water polo team
but she looks back at that time with mixed emotions
It's been complex, to say the least
to represent Canada
and specifically as an Indigenous person
as a Mohawk person
as uh you know someone who has been through
some of the worst racism this country has ever offered
it was really complex for me
[Reporter] a decade before her Olympic debut
Horn-Miller would make headlines for another reason
during the 1990 Oka Crisis
[TVannouncer] It was a bloody day at the Mohawk Indian community...
[Reporter] as a teenager, she was stabbed by Canadian soldiers bayonet
while holding her younger sister during the standoff
for me, sport was an incredible place where I could release some of that trauma
that I had gone through during the Oka Crisis
it is such an important tool
for my own people
but also an important tool in this country
When you're swimming along I don't want you to turn your head away
if you turn your head anything can happen...
[Reporter] she wants to see more Indigenous athletes get the opportunities
and support she had
including her daughter who is following in her footsteps
this government
though in many ways they're trying
but they still are approaching Indigenous sport development a very colonial way
and I think that they need to start understanding how to
work with us
to understand how our people will come together and develop this
[Reporter] in 2015 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission outlined five calls to action for Indigenous sport
since then, Sport Canada has committed to investing
more than $53 million for Indigenous sport by the year 2022
that funding is critical for the development of athletes and Indigenous-led sporting events
like the North American Indigenous Games
it's a place to reclaim our identity
and to assert who we are as Indigenous people
so this is why it's really important for the federal government
to get on board
and to actually create a national strategy
that helps to support Indigenous-led sports
[Reporter] For Rilee, he has his sights set on the Paris Olympics in 2024
I have a strong mindset and I will be there one day
[Reporter] and he hopes he won't be the only Indigenous athlete to cross the finish line.
Tashauna Reid, CBC News, Toronto.