Fort Nelson First Nation is for the first time sending a women’s team to compete in a prestigious Indigenous hockey tournament.
The Kilrich Yukon Native Hockey Tournament is celebrating its 45th edition from March 20-23.
FNFN will send four teams in youth, men’s and women’s divisions. An old-timer division for those over the age of 40 will also be contested.
Taylor Behn-Tsakoza – a member of Fort Nelson First Nation, or FNFN – calls suiting up for the Fort Nelson Fireweeds and her community “an honour.”
The Fireweeds will join the Fort Nelson Bears, who will send teams in two divisions, and the Dunne-Za Chiefs.
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First taking up hockey as a youngster, Behn-Tsakoza has made the trip to Whitehorse several times. The veteran of two National Aboriginal Hockey Championships in 2013 and 2014 with Team BC says she previously suited up for a Whitehorse team at the tournament, which has featured a women’s event since 2022.
“I’m really excited to see Indigenous women’s hockey grow in the North. We were never deprived of players,” she said, just “the opportunity to really showcase what we have up in this part of the world.”
The Kilrich Yukon Native Hockey Tournament, known as YNHT, was first organized in 1977 and is sanctioned by the Yukon First Nations Hockey Association.
The organization’s Facebook page says this year will feature 58 teams of Indigenous players from BC, Alberta and the Yukon.
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Behn-Tsakoza says the Fireweeds will also feature players from Prophet River First Nation, the Métis Nation BC, the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Nation near Kamloops and the Lil’wat Nation near Mount Currie.
She explained these were players she “had to pull” into duty from her experience with Team BC.
Having participated in the tournament as a youth, Behn-Tsakoza calls playing as an adult a “full circle” moment.
She is looking forward to the support she will receive from members of her community who will make the trip to the Yukon.
“This tournament is special,” said Behn-Tsakoza. “It’s providing a space and some ice time for [Indigenous] women to be cheered by our families and our community. It feels good.”
More details and live streams of games are available on the Yukon First Nations Hockey Association’s website.
