ROBSERVATIONS: Celebrating the kisiskâciwan Game … five favourite visits by Ottawa … and kickin’ back with the Chicken

Tansi, Rob nitisiyihkāson.

(Hello, my name is Rob.)

Kayahtê, Regina ohci niya.

(I am from Regina originally.)

I was introduced to those phrases on Friday morning, during a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation staff gathering for members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ organization.

Over two hours, we learned a Cree introduction (see above) and so much more.

We participated in teepee teachings, which were led by the Newo Yolina Friendship Centre, and listened to the wise, witty words of Howie Thomson.

Thomson, from Carry the Kettle Nakota Nation, is well-known as a powwow MC. An all-world sense of humour allows him to instantly connect with audiences, far and wide.

He has talked to thousands and, in our case, a few dozen.

At the first opportunity, I approached him, shook his hand, and thanked him for the jokes.

For example, he found various ways to describe the necessity of consigning the past — bad days, horrific experiences — to “The History Channel.”

Each day, he told us, is a new opportunity.

The sun will always rise in the east. That is why, I discovered, the door to every teepee faces that direction.

We heard quite the message from a gentleman who has faced so much. He was only five years old when, in 1965, he was taken away from his family and forced to attend a residential school in Lebret.

Such things happened routinely, but the public at large did not become aware of them for decades.

When I was in elementary school, I had absolutely no idea of what was happening to Indigenous youngsters in my age group.

The life I knew — the one I presumed everyone else led — did not extend far beyond the boundaries of Whitmore Park in Regina.

Until last year, when a Roughriders delegation visited James Smith Cree Nation, I had never set foot on a reserve. I had rarely heard the stories of First Nations people, live and in person.

There is so much catching up to do — not just individually, but societally.

That is why we observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

There are some often-painful truths, but ones we all need to hear.

Some of the stories were related to the Roughriders’ players on Thursday when they met Thomas Benjoe in Mosaic Stadium’s Jim Hopson Auditorium.

A successful businessman, Benjoe has been a member of the Roughriders’ Indigenous Advisory Group since its inception.

“It’s a big game coming up,” he said after being introduced by Head Coach Corey Mace, “but an even bigger game for our community.”

The CFL schedule shows that the Roughriders are to play host to the Ottawa REDBLACKS on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., at Mosaic Stadium.

Regardless of the outcome, today will be a celebration.

The Roughriders’ third annual kisiskâciwan Game, presented by SIGA, showcases Indigenous culture and underlines the team’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.

Beginning with Coors Light Party in the Park, Indigenous culture will be accentuated and applauded. In-stadium, the presence of artists, performers and elders will connect all attendees to Indigenous traditions.

After the game, fans will be invited on to the playing field, in the spirit of inclusion and unity.

In that same spirit, Benjoe met with the players and told his story — his family’s story.

“How many of you have children?” he asked the players.

“Think about yourself or your siblings at four years old, being taken away.”

Benjoe’s grandmother was in that situation.

She was taken far away from home, to a residential school, and subjected to abuse.

“She was beaten so badly that she actually fractured her skull as a five- or six-year-old,’ Benjoe said. “She spent five or six months in the infirmary, just recovering from that. That’s just one form of abuse that she endured during her time in residential school. She had to do this for years as a young person.”

Benjoe also learned, and related, the story of his grandfather.

“He is a lot like you guys,” the players were told. “He can pivot and run and duck and dive pretty good, so he actually was able to stay away from residential schools.

“Every time they put him in, he’d sneak away. He’d run away and hide in the bush for days. He didn’t have to experience residential school to the extent that my grandmother did.

“So, growing up, my grandfather actually raised me. A lot of his values and principles are instilled in me.

“I’m the first generation of my family not to go to residential school. But in that experience, you could see the difference between my grandmother and my grandfather.

“My grandfather is very, very loving and very caring. He had a lot of love and compassion for my mom and her siblings. My grandmother still carried all that hurt.”

Her pain has not subsided.

“When we think about these things, we think about what is called intergenerational trauma,” Benjoe said. “Some of our family members don’t have that opportunity to really heal.

“Now that we’re making statements about residential schools and sharing stories, it brings back a lot of hurt, a lot of pain.”

And it still hits chillingly close to home, not even 30 years after Saskatchewan’s last residential school — a building that never should have opened — was finally closed.

“My grandmother continues to carry on her addictions, right through today,” Benjoe said. “She ended up moving away from us. She actually ended up moving to Vancouver, which is very tough for addictions.

“We don’t hold anything against her. We’re always trying to be loving and understanding of her story and the experiences that she has faced.”

The message resonated with the coaches and players.

“To me, the biggest takeaway was that, just as people in society, we need them to feel heard,” quarterback Trevor Harris said. “We want them to be heard and to be seen and to know that we care what people are going through.

“The biggest mark for myself as a Christian is loving other people and hearing them out and listening to their story. To me, it was an opportunity for us to let him know that he’s heard and that we see what he’s going through.

“Everybody is going through something to some degree, but for us to be able to highlight the Indigenous community and what they’ve been going through for generations, it’s just about individually hearing people and letting them know they’re seen and heard.”

That message will be reinforced when the Roughriders wear orange jerseys during Saturday’s warmup.

Also conspicuous will be the team’s new Indigenous logo, which was designed by Chris Chipak of Red Pheasant Cree Nation.

The logo, unveiled on Monday, will appear on the Roughriders’ helmets during today’s game.

“I love it,” Mace said. “It’s great and I think it encompasses a lot from this province, so it’s sweet.”

OPPOSING OTTAWA, OTTAWA AND OTTAWA

As the Roughriders’ historian, I pass along this quirk.

The team had never opposed Ottawa in a meaningful game until the Roughriders/Rough Riders Grey Cup matchup of 1951. (Ottawa won 21-14.)

Another decade elapsed before representatives of the West and East met in interlocking regular-season play.

Since 1961, Ottawa has played in Regina as the Rough Riders, Renegades and REDBLACKS.

I have arbitrarily declared it mandatory, then, that each of those teams has to be included at least one in my highly subjective top-five list —favourite visits to Saskatchewan by an Ottawa-based professional football team.

Aug. 27, 1971: The highlight actually occurred before the game. Future Hall of Fame defensive lineman Ed McQuarters missed the Roughriders’ first six regular-season games of 1971 while recovering from a carpentry accident that resulted in the loss of an eye. McQuarters received an extended, impassioned standing ovation when he was introduced at Taylor Field. Once the game began, Rough Riders offensive linemen wished they had never been introduced to McQuarters. I was seven years old, seated beside Mom in Taylor Field’s lower west grandstand, and savouring the first Roughriders game of which I have vivid recollections.

Aug. 17, 2003: Who doesn’t love a 51-41 football game? The answer: Any defensive co-ordinator. The Renegades’ special teams co-ordinator wouldn’t have enjoyed this one, either. Saskatchewan scored on a 96-yard kickoff return (by Kevin Nickerson) and an 87-yard punt return (Corey Holmes). Jackie Mitchell added a 51-yard interception-return TD for the Roughriders, who added three six-pointers on offence (two by Kenton Keith; the other by Chris Szarka). Quirky stat: Renegades quarterback Kerry Joseph, a future Roughrider, had one of the best statistical lines ever: Two carries, two yards, two touchdowns.

Sept. 21, 2014: The REDBLACKS’ first regular-season visit to Regina was a classic. Saskatchewan won 35-32 in overtime. The play of the game/year was a 60-yard scoring strike from Tino Sunseri to Weston Dressler, who finished with seven receptions for 125 yards. On the 60-yarder, Dressler deftly eluded one … two … three … four … five REDBLACKS while scoring one of the most spectacular touchdowns you will ever see.

Aug. 11, 1993: Kent Austin threw five touchdown passes in Saskatchewan’s 45-28 victory over the Rough Riders. Not since then has a (one word) Roughrider thrown for five scores without the benefit of overtime. Austin actually unloaded six passes that went for scores if you include a 51-yard interception-return TD by Charles Gordon. Saskatchewan countered with six picks — a total it has not reached since Aug. 11, 1993. With that in mind, I submit this confidential inter-office request for today: Five touchdown passes + six interceptions. Thank you.

Sept. 20, 1981: I will always love, love, love the 1981 edition of the Roughriders. The entire season was a tonic after back-to-back 2-14 seasons. En route to finishing 9-7, the Riders beat the other Riders 26-23 before an overflow crowd of 28,330 at Taylor Field. Everyone enjoyed two touchdown catches by Joey Walters and, as a bonus, The Famous Chicken — the mascot previously known as the San Diego Chicken. Everyone had buckets of fun that day.

CHICKEN NUGGETS

While employed by the Regina Leader-Post, I had the pleasure of interviewing The Chicken when he paid a return visit to Regina in August of 1994. Asked for details regarding his family, Ted Giannoulas — who didn’t have a problem with the publication of his name but steadfastly declined to be photographed out of costume — replied: “I’m a bachelor bird … always looking for a chick.”

Any pet peeves, Ted? “People who don’t stop for chickens crossing the road.”

One more: I also asked the man behind the mascot about that 1981 visit to Taylor Field.

“I vividly remember the fans passing me up the stands over their heads,” Giannoulas said. “They were chanting, ‘Pass The Chicken! Pass The Chicken!” They meant that literally.

“They passed me up and down the east side of the stadium. I don’t do that routine all that often. On those occasions when you’ve got fans who are seemingly energized, you do it.”

Although I never inquired about how much he was paid to visit Regina, it was assuredly a poultry sum.

(I may have stolen that joke. Sorry for the lack of an original recipe.)

ROLL CREDITS …

• Nice people who deserve a plug: Thomas Benjoe, Howie Thomson, Barry Clarke, Bart Johnson, Dwight Johnson, Rick Johnson, Sarah Mooney, Jordan Mooney, Brock Mooney, Rhett Mooney, Logan Ferland, Janna Varga, Samson Sanderson, Brian McDonald, Larry DeGraw, Sheila DeGraw, Edwin Harrison, Dhel Duncan-Busby, Chris Chipak, Lindsay Morhart, Stacey Riddell, Ed McQuarters, Janis Kot, Alison Newman, Jessica Gelowsky, Kosi Onyeka, Matt Weitzel, Dan Plaster, Rhett Dawson and, for an encore, Ted Giannoulas.