On Tuesday November 1st, the Toronto Maple Leafs host Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers for the only time this season. They will use the national spotlight this game will have to focus on the ongoing issues for residential school survivors, and increasing problems with suicide, and the missing & murdered indigenous women. Many more issues continue to plague the Indigenous people of Canada, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, MLSE, and The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund will use their names and power to bring more awareness and help to these and more issues.

From the press release:

To mark this occasion, a special video will be played at Air Canada Centre that evening featuring Gord Downie’s recent live performance of Secret Path and highlighting The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund that has been created to support reconciliation across Canada. Secret Path tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, the 12-year-old Ojibway boy who ran away from his residential school in 1966 and died 6 days later on the side of the tracks trying to get home. During intermission, Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler will be present at ice level, accompanied by Fred Sasakamoose, the NHL’s first Indigenous hockey player, as well as Josée Lusignan, president of I Love First Peoples.

The initiative came at the request of Lusignan: “As a non-Indigenous Canadian, I want to see more Canadians involved in reconciliation. In light of the massive impact Gord is having on our nation, we have an opportunity to bring reconciliation into every home in Canada and honour Indigenous people in a way that is unprecedented. Our organization brings forth ideas and projects that make it easy to get involved.” I Love First Peoples is in talks with other NHL and CFL teams to bring more awareness events in coming months.

The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund can be found at downiejack.ca. Proceeds of the fund will go towards funding the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba, and 100% of the proceeds from Secret Path will go to the NCTR.

I Love First Peoples aims to “break the cycle of poverty in the lives of indigenous children and youth through education and the motivation to stay in school.” and takes donations and sponsorships to fund youth with school supplies, and shoe box gifts to award students who meet achievements.

When you have the attention of millions of people it’s important to use it to help those who don’t have as strong a voice. The MLSE Foundation already provides programs that impact Indigenous youth and hopefully the Maple Leafs will continue promoting the need for help in this fight long after the November 1st game.

You can view the feature on Secret Path below, and find out more at SecretPath.ca