In the Spotlight

Among First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities are individuals who combine skill, talent and ambition to become the best athletes they can be. Through dedication and hard work these individuals are important role models who deserve recognition. Here their accomplishments are showcased.

National Aboriginal Role Models of NAHO with athlete profiles will be supporting the Cowichan 2008 North American Indigenous Games by emceeing events and presenting personal stories.

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Sharon and Shirley Firth
Gwich’in First Nation

Sharon Firth couldn’t possibly have imagined herself as a four-time winter Olympian when she first stepped on a pair of skis at 13-years-old. She didn’t even know what the Olympics were.

But that’s exactly what was in store not only for herself, but also her twin sister Shirley.

The aspiring athletes who grew up mostly in Inuvik, NWT, would become the first two Aboriginal females to form the Women’s National Cross-Country Ski Team. 

Between them, they won 79 medals at a variety of racing distances at national championships. They competed in four winter Olympic Games, including in 1972 in Sapporo, Japan, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria, 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, and 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. They also competed at four Cross-Country World Ski Championships in 1970, 1974, 1978, and 1982.

Among their accomplishments, both received the Order of Canada in 1987, were inducted into the Canadian Ski Museum and Skiing Hall of Fame in 1990, and received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.

Sharon and Shirley also received National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, in 2005 and 2006 respectively, and were just recently inducted in the the Banff Ski Hall of Fame in September 2009.

Looking back, both sisters recall developing an instant attachment to cross-country skiing from their first encounter.

“The best thing I ever put on my feet was a pair of skis,” said Shirley. “It was so thrilling and exciting knowing that you had to make those move.”

They were introduced to the sport when friends invited them to try out for a cross-country ski team run through the Territorial Experimental Ski Training (TEST) program. TEST was a controversial program run in the 1970’s to see if Aboriginal people could excel in professional sport.

“If we did (make the team) we would get to travel,” said Sharon. “And it was my dream to travel.”

Sharon was quick to find success with a third place in her first competition in Anchorage, Alaska.

 Shirley, however, finished last in her very first race. She said the loss and her desire to make the team were enough to drive her to success.

“Our trainer said if we train hard and do well we could make the team,” said Shirley. “My goal was then to beat everybody on the team, and I did that in my next races. After that, it became serious.”

Rather than see each other as rivals, Sharon and Shirley said their companionship throughout their cross-country skiing career helped support each other to perform at their best.

“We pushed one another a lot,” said Sharon. “Not only are we sisters, but we are twins, and we were both on the team.”

Sharon believes their love of the sport played a big hand in their success.

“It wasn’t that we were good,” she said, “it was that we were having fun. When you are good at something, you have fun with it.”

Sharon said that a large part of staying motivated had to come from within herself.

“You have to be goal-oriented and my goal was to see the world,” she said. “Skiing gave me that. If you don’t train, you miss out. If you don’t study, you miss out. If you don’t show up, you miss out. Showing up is an important thing in life.”

For Shirley, the key to success was to set small goals and work her way up to bigger ones. She said it was also important to accept the level of work and training involved to reaching these goals.

“Being a top athlete was something I chose to be,” she said. “You don’t sacrifice, that’s the lifestyle you choose.”

Both agree being away from home was one of their biggest challenges.

“We had to leave the North, leave the surroundings, family, friends, and food,” said Sharon. “But my mother instilled in us that if there is an opportunity, go for it, because home will always be there,” she said. “You can always go home.”

Sharon admitted though racism was sometimes a challenge, her pride was something that could never be taken.
 
 “I was born Aboriginal and I love it,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to be anyone else. When you have your culture, your strong foundation which comes from your parents, nobody can take that away from you. When you are grounded and rooted, you are unmovable.”

After retiring from cross-country skiing, Shirley acquired a certificate in teaching from the American University in Paris, and spent several years travelling through Europe promoting Dene and Inuit cultures in lecture tours to various universities and Canadian Embassies. She recently returned to the North and now works in Yellowknife for the Government of Northwest Territories.

Sharon inspires youth in the Northwest Territories by sharing her success story in communities as part of Sport North’s esteem team, and has been to all 33 communities in the Northwest Territories. She also works in youth programming with the Government of Northwest Territories’ Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

She said choosing a career dedicated to promoting youth in sport was not a difficult decision.

“I had to picture myself as a youth, where I was, and how did I get here,” she said. “You never do it on your own. My whole community was behind us, and today that’s lacking,” she said. “I felt I owed it to the people up here to give back.”