The All Native Basketball Tournament is the largest basketball tournament in British Columbia, and one of the largest Indigenous cultural events in Canada, and a UNBC professor has made a documentary about it.
The tournament is hosted in Prince Rupert, B.C. and attracts upwards of 4,000 people, which includes the athletes, coaches and spectators. Competitors for the tournament hail from Vancouver Island, British Columbia to Alaska. Peter Haugan, president of the tournament, estimated that $4 to $5 million dollars is generated in Prince Rupert from the annual tournament being held there.
There is no cash prize for winning the tournament: being victorious is all about bragging rights and pride. The next event is set for February 2022.
The All Native Basketball Tournament was established in 1947 under the name the "Northern British Columbia Coast Indian Championship Tournament (NBCCICT)." The first tournament in 1947 was held in the Roosevelt Gymnasium where 400 people came out to support the event. The tournament was created in order to build the Native community through friendly competition. In 1953, the NBCCICT was cancelled due to lack of interest amongst the tribes. In 1959, the tournament was resurrected and began play on March 2, 1960 under the new name the "All Native Basketball Tournament" (ANBT).
Hagwil Hayetsk (Dr. Charles Menzies) is a professor of anthropology at the University of Northern British Columbia and the main filmmaker behind "Basketball Warriors," a documentary on the ANBT. His areas of interest include Anthropological films, natural resource management (primarily fisheries related), political economy, contemporary First Nations’ issues, maritime anthropology and the archaeology of north coast BC. Hagwil hayetsk is a member of Gitxaała Nation on BC’s north coast and an enrolled member of the Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska.
He has conducted research and anthropological films as part of his research and understanding, but also as way to share his scientific work with a new, captive audience.
Basketball Warriors is about the people and passion that makes the ANBT such a massive success. The 12-minute film involves live footage of the games with "talking head" interviews with powerhouses like Rudy Kelly, Art Sterritt and Gerald Amos.
Hagwil hayetsk said they hope to release the film on youtube in the new year and you can follow the progress here:
https://twitter.com/BballWaryrs and https://blogs.ubc.ca/bbws/
Listen to CICK News' interview with hagwil hayetsk (Dr. Charles Menzies) about the making of the film, and the importance of showcasing Indigenous sovereignty over the sport in northern British Columbia: