Waneek Horn-Miller on improving native health

Waneek Horn-Miller came of age in the political turmoil of Oka and went on to become one of the few Aboriginal Canadians in Olympic competition. She's now trying to Change the Game for other First Nations people through health and wellness.



Three of The Current

Waneek Horn-Miller on improving native health

We started this segment with the sound of heavy gunfire in the Mohawk territory of Khanasetake on the morning of July 11th, 1990 -- relations between natives and non-natives hadn't been so tense in generations.

The Oka crisis was a formative moment for Canada. It would be a formative moment for a 14 year old Mohawk girl as well. Waneek Horn-Miller was injured during the standoff - she believes that injury intensified her competitive edge. It would eventually take her to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, as co-captain of the Women's Water Polo team.

And those native - non-native tensions would return in her personal life as well. When she fell in love with a white man, she risked becoming estranged from her community of Kahnewake. Now she's trying to change the game for First Nations Canadians through a program aimed at improving native health and wellness on the Aboriginal People's Television Network or APTN. Waneek Horn-Miller was in Montreal.

This segment was produced The Current's Pedro Sanchez.

Related Links:


Other segments from today's show: