Nipissing University is proud to present this exclusive release of the documentary movie Warriors. Emerging from the Nipissing First Nation Culture and Heritage history preservation project, the movie was jointly produced by Dr. Katrina Srigley, professor of History; and Glenna Beaucage, Nipissing First Nation culture and heritage manager, in association with Regan Pictures.
The remarkable Nipissing Warriors hockey team played from 1965 – 1975. Few could have imagined their success or popularity when community members began pushing for an all-Anishinaabe team to play in the all-white, predominantly Francophone, Industrial League in Sturgeon Falls in the 1960s. It turned out that the Warriors were very good and exceptionally popular among fans for their swift, hard-hitting play. No other team packed the Sturgeon Falls arena like they did. They won the league championship their first year and would dominate league play for almost a decade. In inter-reserve hockey they were equally successful, winning two provincial titles in the early 1970s.
As the wins and fans kept piling up, the team grew and eventually splintered into multiple teams, partially a victim of its own success as more and more people wanted to play. The legacy is carried on today in the many children who play hockey in the Little Native Hockey League.
Financial support for this project was provided by Nipissing University, Nipissing First Nation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.