# Fort McMurray hockey team cancels season after death threats for performing Indigenous dance



## Munchingonfish (Feb 16, 2019)

*Parents of a Fort McMurray, Alta., minor hockey team have cancelled the team’s season to protect their kids from death threats made after a video on social media showed them performing a pow dance in their dressing room, an act dubbed “sad and gravely unfortunate” by the local hockey association.*

The Midget "A" Junior Oil Barons will skip their remaining six regular-season games and be fined $2,100 after the team was identified and disparaged in a tersely worded statement by the Fort McMurray Minor Hockey Association (FMMHA) issued three hours after the video appeared. The video, shot Jan. 20, went from Snapchat to Facebook and sparked an angry backlash against the 15- to 17-year-old players.

The three players shown dancing were quick to apologize online. Since then, emotions have been running hot. The school that several players attend has requested an increased police presence. Another player has carried a baseball bat with him in his car in fear for his safety. The local RCMP said it would escort the team to and from its remaining games but the Junior Oil Barons declined because no one was sure the players could be protected inside the arena.

“We couldn’t guarantee the safety [from] people in the stands or the players on the ice from the other team,” parent Shane Kearney said on Friday. “Some of the threats made, it absolutely baffles you about mankind. To say, ‘We hope that the next semi that collides with a bus is your guys’ team’ [a reference to the Humboldt Broncos bus tragedy] – who in their right mind says that to 15-, 16-, 17-year olds? Where in society is that acceptable?”

The parents have said the dance to Electric Pow Wow Drum by Indigenous electronic music group A Tribe Called Red was not meant to be disrespectful or racist. In fact,* two of the teens dancing to it are Indigenous.* The FMMHA dispatched a statement saying it was “wrong and will not be tolerated. … These players will know how deeply impactful their actions are.” Members of the association executive met with the parents on the evening of Jan. 21 where they were told that by naming the team they had exposed the players to targeted attacks.


The parents, in their own news release, said the association’s lack of investigation, and overreaction, had “contributed to team members receiving death threats, threats of harm, and humiliating and degrading comments about them on social media." The FMMHA statement has been removed from its website and its other social-media links.

Asked if she thought the closeness of the Fort McMurray hockey community meant the association would be more understanding and would have investigated before denouncing the players, parent Roxanne James replied: “That was our hope. That’s why we reached out. We just want some resolution for our children.”

Ms. James and Mr. Kearney said the team and its players are seeking an apology from the FMMHA. The Globe and Mail left a message with league president Travis Galenzoski but it was not returned by Friday’s deadline.

“[The FMMHA and its directors seem to] have taken a vow of silence. We have not talked to them since our initial meeting on Jan. 21,” said Mr. Kearney, who added that the parents have also tried to contact the association via their lawyer. “I don’t think any of us know what the next step is. We hope they do the right thing and we don’t have to go any further. If they don’t, at a point we have to go to a higher avenue, whether that’s with Hockey Alberta or Hockey Canada, and put in a formal complaint.”

http://archive.md/ww9VF


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## U 'MIRIN BRAH? (Feb 16, 2019)

Poor choice of words perhaps, but it's shameful that the fucking hockey association itself threw them under the bus. Useless bunch of cunts


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## RomanesEuntDomus (Feb 16, 2019)

So... a bunch of teenagers danced to some music in a certain style and that is now reason enough to send them death threats?
What is a pow  dance? Is there some sort of significance to it?


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## heathercho (Feb 16, 2019)

Two of the teens are indigenous, but they're the wrong KIND of indigenous for the violent progressive stackers.


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## Jaded Optimist (Feb 16, 2019)

Seriously?  It's fort mcmurray, this should be the least offensive thing ever.  It's a town that purely exists because of the oil fields and is where anyone under 30 who lives in western Canada goes to make a money when they need a job.


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## DragoonSierra (Feb 16, 2019)

Its almost as if they are totally against multiculturalism.


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## Feline Darkmage (Feb 16, 2019)

RomanesEuntDomus said:


> So... a bunch of teenagers danced to some music in a certain style and that is now reason enough to send them death threats?
> What is a pow  dance? Is there some sort of significance to it?



Pow s are social gatherings with music and dance competitions and food. Tribes would hold them within their tribe or in larges groups of tribes, including inviting white (or non-indigenous people) to certain ones. 

Also the song was from a modern electronic band of native people, who most definitely want everyone to dance to it. It's electronica, its meant to be danced to. 

It's white fauxgressives being racist, yet again. This time with additional death threats and harassment.


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## Slap47 (Feb 17, 2019)

RomanesEuntDomus said:


> So... a bunch of teenagers danced to some music in a certain style and that is now reason enough to send them death threats?
> What is a pow  dance? Is there some sort of significance to it?



Canadian liberals believe in cultural segregation for some reason.


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## carltondanks (Feb 17, 2019)

Munchingonfish said:


> The Midget "A" Junior Oil Barons will skip their remaining six regular-season games and be fined $2,100 after the team was identified and disparaged in a tersely worded statement by the Fort McMurray Minor Hockey Association (FMMHA) issued three hours after the video appeared.





Munchingonfish said:


> “[The FMMHA and its directors seem to] have taken a vow of silence. We have not talked to them since our initial meeting on Jan. 21,” said Mr. Kearney, who added that the parents have also tried to contact the association via their lawyer.


Fine someone money for skipping a game to protect their teammates from possible harm, say next to nothing about it, and refusing to talk to those affected by the fine. yep, the FMMHA are going to a lose a lawsuit along with most of their money


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## J A N D E K (Feb 17, 2019)

Feline Darkmage said:


> Pow s are social gatherings with music and dance competitions and food. Tribes would hold them within their tribe or in larges groups of tribes, including inviting white (or non-indigenous people) to certain ones.
> 
> Also the song was from a modern electronic band of native people, who most definitely want everyone to dance to it. It's electronica, its meant to be danced to.
> 
> It's white fauxgressives being racist, yet again. This time with additional death threats and harassment.


Exactly. Way to absolutely shit on a bunch of kids having a good time and getting pumped up for a game. It’s not like they were wearing ceremonial headdresses and done up in “red face”. What’s next banning certain dance moves for being culturally inappropriate depending on race ?


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## Kiwi Lime Pie (Feb 17, 2019)

Feline Darkmage said:


> Pow s are social gatherings with music and dance competitions and food. Tribes would hold them within their tribe or in larges groups of tribes, including inviting white (or non-indigenous people) to certain ones.



Agreed. I can't speak for Canada, but the US has a body known as the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) that brings tribes - including students, staff, and administrators from tribal colleges - together for various activities including pow-s, archery, rodeos, and athletic competitions. I also believe the AIHEC tries to promote higher (post-secondary) education for tribal natives given the challenges they face.

To piggyback on what @Feline Darkmage  said, some tribes have welcomed non-natives to some of their pow-s. I have a cousin who married a Native American and his tribe had a pow- while my family was on vacation nearby, so we were given directions from the campground to the park hosting it and encouraged to go check it out. It felt like a festive atmosphere and it proved to be a fun afternoon.



J A N D E K said:


> Exactly. Way to absolutely shit on a bunch of kids having a good time and getting pumped up for a game. It’s not like they were wearing ceremonial headdresses and done up in “red face”.



I believe the aforementioned pow- gave visitors a chance to peek inside a teepee replica and even had a simple headdress children could briefly try on and have their picture taken with because children tend to be curious about different stuff. Granted, this happened during a time when different cultures were all too happy to share what made their culture unique with others and encouraged people to experience what they could with them.Godbear forbid people try to understand, respect, or even enjoy other cultures today without cries of appropriation or the current -ism of the day.

On topic, the hockey league's governing body (FMMHA) is acting as if it needs to be politically correct in a heavy-handed way. Funny how the FMMHA seems to have done little if any research to determine whether the players even acted inappropriately. If its true 2 of the 3 people dancing to the music were First Nation people, it's possible they were happy to share their music and dance with their teammates and there was no disrespect or negative intent in what took place. It's natural for people of different cultures to share not just their music, but any corresponding dances that accompany it.

Worse are the adults that are a-logging the kids in question and making violent threats against them.


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## J A N D E K (Feb 17, 2019)

Article containing clips from the actual indigenous dance video.
https://edmonton.citynews.ca/2019/0...d-for-indigenous-dance-video-forfeits-season/


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## Kiwi Lime Pie (Feb 17, 2019)

J A N D E K said:


> Article containing clips from the actual indigenous dance video.



Not knowing what indigenous dances look like, I didn't see anything that looked inappropriate, appropriating, or even demeaning - and that's taking the privacy blurring into consideration.

More importantly, who was taking video in the locker room?  I'll admit I'm unfamiliar with Canadian laws on the matter, but there are US sports bodies (mostly high school and youth associations) that make it clear that video is a big no-no in locker rooms and other areas (e.g. rest rooms) where privacy is legally expected - especially when minors are involved.


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## pwnest injun (Feb 17, 2019)

Instead of playing the remaining games, they should ambush the opposing teams players while they're sleeping, murder all of the men and take their women for slaves.


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## J A N D E K (Feb 17, 2019)

Kiwi Lime Pie said:


> Not knowing what indigenous dances look like, I didn't see anything that looked inappropriate, appropriating, or even demeaning - and that's taking the privacy blurring into consideration.
> 
> More importantly, who was taking video in the locker room?  I'll admit I'm unfamiliar with Canadian laws on the matter, but there are US sports bodies (mostly high school and youth associations) that make it clear that video is a big no-no in locker rooms and other areas (e.g. rest rooms) where privacy is legally expected - especially when minors are involved.


Yeah. I’m actually a part-time Ft Mac resident (I live there while I work). Mobile phone usage is banned in arena dressing rooms.

It appears  it was a teammate filming. I believe the short clip is the entire video length, so it is a quick snippet shot on the fly randomly as something just “in the moment” and spontaneous. The kid clearly wasn’t thinking in this regard and made a forgivable mistake... I mean he wasn’t shooting video of teammates undressing.



pwnest injun said:


> Instead of playing the remaining games, they should ambush the opposing teams players while they're sleeping, murder all of the men and take their women for slaves.


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## Anonymus Fluhre (Feb 26, 2019)

Honestly, I expect nothing much from Fort Mac. The people there are worse than Calgarians and there's nothing going for it. When you visit, you get this sense that you're surrounded by angry twats that don't want you there. I would say it's just a small town thing, but you get a better reception in Fort Sask (maybe it's because Fort Sask has no real entertainment so you have to interact more with people).


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## Corbin Dallas Multipass (Feb 27, 2019)

So does this mean I should freak the fuck out if I see a non-white person do the charleston? Tango? What about our indiginous musical instruments? Only whites can play guitar?

This is dumb and fuck everyone hassling the kids.


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## Anonymus Fluhre (Feb 27, 2019)

Corbin Dallas Multipass said:


> So does this mean I should freak the fuck out if I see a non-white person do the charleston? Tango? What about our indiginous musical instruments? Only whites can play guitar?
> 
> This is dumb and fuck everyone hassling the kids.


I have Metis cousins that easily pass for white, should they not practice their heritage? People get upset over the dumbest things now days and don't want you to enjoy anything.


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