Edmonton Oilers' outreach to Indigenous community reaches beyond pregame land recognition video

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Before the puck drops and before 18,000 fans sing “O Canada” in unison at Edmonton Oilers home games, the audience hears from Chief Willie Littlechild.

A message from Littlechild plays on Rogers Place video screens, welcoming the crowd to Treaty 6 territory, the homelands of Métis and Inuit and the ancestral territory of the Cree, Dene, Blackfoot, Saulteaux and Nakota Sioux.

“The recognition of our history on this land is an act of reconciliation, and we honor those who walk with us,” Littlechild says, ending with “kinanaskomitin” — thank you, in Cree.

The land recognition video, a tradition that began in 2021, is getting major airtime across North America with the Oilers on national television in the U.S. and Canada in the Stanley Cup Final against Florida. Littlechild called it a significant step, but it is only one piece of the Oilers' outreach to First Nations tribes and the Indigenous community in central and northern Alberta that has grown significantly over the past decade.

“We’ve had significant progress,” said Littlechild, who has served on the team's community foundation board for nine years. “The Oilers have really been pioneers in the country, and I would say in the whole National Hockey League, in terms of inclusion and access for Indigenous peoples.”

Much of it stemmed from Canada's National Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, a six-plus-year study conducted from 2007-15 in the wake of the country's largest class-action lawsuit settled over the treatment of First Nations children sent to Indigenous residential schools. Littlechild said one of the findings was a call to private industry, including sports, to build better relationships with the Indigenous community, and he cited steps made in inclusion and business as evidence of progress.

“We don’t do this just to check a box of inclusion on the calendar,” Oilers Entertainment Group executive vice president Tim Shipton said Wednesday. “The Indigenous community in northern Alberta is significant. There are nations right across Oil country and members of the community are such passionate members of our fanbase.”

Littlechild said Indigenous girls hockey has seen a particular boost from efforts, including the Oilers hosting a First Nations hockey celebration and working with Edmonton’s Inner City Youth Development Association and the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society.

The land recognition video is one piece of the puzzle and something Littlechild as recently as last week across the country in Quebec City got comments on from fans who noticed it on TV during this playoff run.

“It has been a very significant step forward to advance reconciliation through the power of sport,” Littlechild told The Associated Press by phone. “It’s so important as a message to the Indigenous peoples both in Canada and the U.S. that we have an opportunity here through a sport like hockey to build good relations, and we’ve been doing that. It’s really appreciated, I know, by our Indigenous nations across the country.”

Shipton, who leads the Oilers' Indigenous outreach, said other organizations and teams have reached out about the video since it first aired Oct. 13, 2021, and drew positive reactions locally and nationally.

“It’s something that people who are new, people coming from out of town or other teams across the league, they come in and it really spurs a conversation around why do you do it, what does it mean,” Shipton said. “And it creates that opening to talk about the things that we can do from a reconciliation perspective.”

Attendance at Panthers home games this season reached a new record of 1,000,160, breaking the 1 million mark for the first time with a sellout in Game 5 on Tuesday night.

The Panthers will be pleased if it stops there.

The only way the figure goes up this season, obviously, is if there’s a Game 7 in Sunrise on Monday night.

Florida can win the Stanley Cup with a win at Edmonton on Friday. The team is hosting a watch party at its arena for Game 6; about 16,000 people came to the arena to watch Game 4 on the scoreboard and with images on the ice as well. (No, they don’t count toward the attendance for the season.)

With three points in the Oilers' Game 5 victory, Evan Bouchard reached 32 in the playoffs, second only to captain Connor McDavid among all scorers in the playoffs. It's also the most by a defenseman in a single postseason, passing Hall of Famer Paul Coffey, who is now an Oilers assistant coach.

“(Bouchard) has been very key for the entire series and through the entire year,” coach Kris Knoblauch said, pointing to the 24-year-old's shot from the point as a key to his team's potent power play. “He does have the shot, but he’s also a very smart hockey player who sees the ice really well and can make that next pass.”

Panthers hockey operations president and general manager Bill Zito had a viral moment of sorts late in Game 5, when he threw a water bottle against a wall in frustration after McDavid’s empty-net goal sealed the Oilers' win.

Upon hearing about it, Panthers coach Paul Maurice expressed some very funny, very faux concerns.

“Were the bottled water association people upset? We going to cancel Bill?” Maurice asked.

Reynolds reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With files from Canadian Press.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Edmonton Oilers fans celebrate as the Oilers defeated the Florida Panthers, as fans watched coverage of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers fans celebrate the team's win over the Florida Panthers, as fans watched coverage of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) celebrates his goal during the third period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. The Oilers defeated the Panthers 5-3. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) and defenseman Darnell Nurse (25) celebrate at the end of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. The Oilers defeated the Panthers 5-3. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Edmonton Oilers players celebrate at the end of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. The Oilers defeated the Panthers 5-3. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Edmonton Oilers players congratulate center Connor McDavid (97) after McDavid scored a goal during the third period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. The Oilers defeated the Panthers 5-3. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Edmonton Oilers Connor McDaniel and Zach Hyman speak during a news conference following Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. The Oilers defeated Panthers 5-3. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Edmonton Oilers right wing Connor Brown (28) scores a goal against Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the first period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

A First Nations land recognition video narrated by Chief Willie Littlechild plays on video screens prior to Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. The Edmonton Oilers began airing the video prior to national athems in 2021. (AP Photo/Stephen Whyno)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building.

Protesters who said last week that they would march to the State House on Thursday say they still do not trust President William Ruto, who has said the tax hikes would be withdrawn and budget cuts would be made.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday urged the young protesters to call off planned protests and give dialogue a chance.

The leaderless movement began online with young people demanding that legislators reject the proposed tax hikes. It later morphed into calls for the president's resignation after the bill was passed. On Tuesday thousands of protesters stormed Kenya's parliament, burning parts of the building and sending lawmakers fleeing. Police opened fire and at least 22 people were reportedly killed in the chaos.

Activists were divided about the agenda of Thursday's protests. One protester, Boniface Mwangi, urged others to peacefully march to parliament road where protesters were killed to pay their respects. “Invasion of the State House isn’t a solution," he wrote on X.

But Francis Gaitho, one of the many activists mobilizing for the protests online, insisted that young people should march to the State House.

Activists and others warned the stakes were higher than in past protesters because Ruto vowed on Tuesday to quash unrest “at whatever cost".

Analyst Javas Bigambo told The Associated Press that the discontent is partly because Kenyans do not trust the president to implement the austerity measures he announced on Wednesday.

“Kenyans still have a problem with the economy and wastage in government," he said.

U.S Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Wednesday spoke with Ruto thanking him for taking steps to reduce tensions.

“The Secretary underscored the importance of security forces demonstrating restraint and refraining from violence and encouraged prompt investigations into allegations of human rights abuses,” a statement read.

Ruto has been embraced by the U.S as a welcome, stable partner in Africa while frustration grows elsewhere on the continent with the U.S. and some other Western powers.

In May, Ruto went to Washington in the first state visit by an African leader in 16 years. On Tuesday, as the protests erupted, the U.S. designated Kenya as its first major non-NATO ally in sub-Saharan Africa, a largely symbolic act but one highlighting their security partnership. Also Tuesday, hundreds of Kenyan police deployed to lead a multinational force against gangs in Haiti, an initiative that brought thanks from President Joe Biden.

Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Nairobi county workers stand in front of the governor's office, which was burned during yesterday's protest over proposed tax hikes in a finance bill in downtown Nairobi, Kenya Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Thousands of protesters stormed and burned a section of Kenya's parliament Tuesday to protest tax proposals. Police responded with gunfire and several protesters were killed. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenyans discuss yesteday's protest as they read newspapers from a street vendor in downtown Nairobi, Kenya Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Thousands of protesters stormed and burned a section of Kenya's parliament Tuesday to protest tax proposals. Police responded with gunfire and several protesters were killed. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Kenyan President William Ruto gives an address at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Kenyan President William Ruto said he won't sign into law a finance bill proposing new taxes a day after protesters stormed parliament and several people were shot dead. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)