Chippewas of Rama First Nation woman elected as NAIG Council president
By Sam Laskaris
ORILLIA – Dale Tamara Plett got a bit more than she bargained for when she attended a recent annual general meeting in Charlottetown.
Plett, a member of Chippewas of Rama First Nation, travelled to the Prince Edward Island capital to serve as an Ontario representative at the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) Council’s Annual General Meeting.
During the meeting, however, Plett was nominated by Quebec and Manitoba officials to run for NAIG Council president.
Plett said she was caught off guard by the nomination process.
“My first response was fear,” she said. “I’m relatively new to the Indigenous sports scene in Canada.”
It was just this past February that Plett was named the director of engagement, operations and policy with the Aboriginal Sport and Wellness Council of Ontario (ASWCO).
This provincial organization is the governing body for Indigenous sports in Ontario.
Shortly after her initial reaction of fear, Plett said adrenaline took over and she decided she would be willing to accept the NAIG Council president position.
Actually, she didn’t have much time to mull over the decision. Plett said it took mere minutes for her to be nominated and then voted in as president.
“The NAIG Council has an excellent team in place,” she said. “With their help, I figured I could do it.”
By accepting the role, Plett, 41, becomes the first female to hold the title of NAIG Council president.
“The NAIG have been around for more than 30 years,” she said. “I think that was really scary for me, knowing I’d be the first female president.”
Plett added she does not consider herself to be extraordinary.
“I’m just me,” she said. “I get work done. To be counted on to be the first woman (NAIG president) is incredible.”
Plett is understandably thrilled she has been entrusted with a prestigious position.
“I had a difficult time growing up in public school and in high school,” she said. “I’m not going to get into my whole life story. But it wasn’t until I was in post-secondary that I found mentors who believed in me.”
After graduating from high school in Orillia, Plett attended Saskatchewan’s Briercrest College and Seminary.
For starters, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in outdoor recreation and counselling. She also completed the Master’s program in marriage and family counselling from Briercrest College.
Plett also attended Vancouver’s Regent College for a couple of years in the mid 2000s. After taking some additional online courses from the college, Plett is still deciding whether or not she will write her thesis, a requirement to earn a Master’s in spirituality.
The NAIG is a multi-sport competition featuring Indigenous athletes from Canada and the United States. Athletes represent their province or state or various regions on both sides of the border.
As for the NAIG Council, it consists of 26 members, 13 from Canada and 13 from the U.S.
The Games were first held in 1990 in Edmonton. Since then, the NAIG have been held eight other times, most recently in 2017 in Toronto.
The next NAIG are scheduled to be held in Halifax in the summer of 2020.
Plett’s appointment as NAIG Council president will run until the conclusion of those Games.
The NAIG Council presidency is a volunteer position. As a result, Plett will continue her ASWCO job as well.
Plett lives in Orillia and commutes to her ASWCO job based in Mississauga.
Plett already has a few ideas she would like to see implemented during her time as NAIG Council president.
For example, she would like to see more talent identification of Indigenous athletes. To this end, she is hoping to have as many representatives from post-secondary schools attend the 2020 NAIG.
Plett is hoping these coaches and scouts will be on the lookout for Indigenous athletes who will be able to eventually join post-secondary athletic programs.
Since she’s only been NAIG Council president for mere days, Plett has yet to discuss this idea with other colleagues.
“I want to run this by the whole table,” she said.