Since 2005, the McGill First Peoples' House has facilitated a sports camp for aboriginal youth, ages 13-17, in order to promote higher education at McGill and high performance lifestyles through sport and recreation. Twenty to thirty participants from across Canada are given the opportunity to participate in this three-day event, which includes a variety of sport activities, fitness testing, and education from aboriginal role models.

Plans are underway for the Eagle Spirit High Performance Camp to take place again in 2011, from May 20th - 22nd! Currently, we are collecting and updating the contact information of communities, schools and organisations that might be interested in the camp.

About Eagle Spirit High Performance Camp

The McGill University Eagle Spirit High Performance Camp was created in 2005 after the First People’s House was charged with the task of creating and implementing the Eberts Outreach Fund strategy. The idea of the camp came from discussions focusing on the best process to meaningfully engage the Aboriginal community and expose them to McGill University.

It was understood that; though the idea of higher education is not yet a priority in the eyes of all aboriginal households, sports and sports excellence is, playing a central to the hopes and dreams of many young aboriginals. Sports and recreation affects the lives of many aboriginal youth, serving as a prevention strategy for suicide and teenage pregnancy, as well as a developer of self-esteem and leadership.

Drawing upon this knowledge as well as understanding that for many Aboriginal athletes, all athletic hopes are often on the NHL or the Olympic Games. Such a one-dimensional view of success is a precarious path that can be sometimes more limiting than empowering. Therefore, it became clear that a optimal outreach step would be to have a High Performance camp where the primary goal was to teach the youth that true success is a balance of multiple dimensions including; academics, family, personal relationships, health, culture and self-esteem. This opportunity would also enabling McGill to address a great need in Aboriginal society as well as bringing potential future students to the campus.

Pre-Camp Promotions and Outreach

With the completion of the third Eagle Spirit High Performance Camp, it is with much pride that McGill’s First Peoples House would like to present a synopsis of the Camps events and participants. In years past, there has been a need to find a way to further promote the camp in the Aboriginal world.

In order to meet this need, a strategy was formulated. This included a promotional campaign that included a large mailing of a camp DVD, brochure and application form. The Camp DVD was directed and co-produced with Mohawk Filmmaker Tracey Deer and was a very important visual representation of what the potential participants could expect at the camp. The mailing was done in conjunction with much legwork done by McGill’s Interim Coordinator Paige Isaac at various schools and the Canadian Aboriginal Festival.

The result of the promotional strategy was that the Eagle Spirit High Performance Camp saw its largest participant list ever; 30 attendees from communities in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The Eagle Spirit High Performance Camp is a unique camp that depends 100% on the support of outside financial support as well as many members of the McGill community, including the Eberts Family. As well, this camp would not be possible without the in-kind donation of time and resources of McGill University’s faculties of Medicine and Dentistry, as well as the Department of Athletics.

Click here for more information.

Click here to download the application form.