Native American Women Athletes
It is wonderful that today female athletes are able to participate in many sports. They are no longer held back because of gender. Misogyny was only one obstacle they had to overcome.
Some athletes have had to overcome other obstacles such as poor health in childhood, poverty, and lack of opportunity. In our story this week amazing twin sisters showed their determination and dedication that eventually led them to the Olympics.
Sharon and Shirley Firth (Gwich’in Nation, Canada, Twins b. 1953, Shirley d. 2013)
Twin sisters Sharon and Shirley Firth were born in Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada, two of thirteen children. Their mother was Gwich’in Dene and their father Metis. They lived in a log house. As if their situation wasn’t cold and desolate enough, when they were in their teens their family had to move north of the Arctic Circle. Because of severe flooding in their area the government helped them to relocate to Inuvik. In their new home they endured twenty-four-hour nights in the winter along with some of the harshest conditions in the world.
Sharon and Shirley were not only toughened by the bleak conditions but also by their father, a Loucheaux-Metis trapper who taught them survival skills. These abilities were useful to them in their training in the often minus forty degree winter temperatures. During the summers they ran long distances to build up the strength and endurance they would need for competitive cross-country skiing.
A Roman Catholic French missionary priest, Father Jean Marie Mouchet introduced the girls to skiing. The Canadian government gave him funds to start a ski clinic for First Nations and Inuit people that would give the youth athletic and leadership skills. It was called the Territorial Experimental Ski Training program (TEST). Father Mouchet was impressed with the abilities and determination of Sharon and Shirley. The girls trained with him.
For seventeen years the girls were part of the Canadian national cross-country team. They participated in many World Cup events. Together they won a total of seventy-nine national championship medals and 48 national titles. They made history as indigenous athletes on a global stage.
They made their national debut competing in the Canadian Junior Cross Country Championships in Ontario when they were only 14. Shirley took silver and Sharon the bronze. The next year they made their international debut in Sweden, taking the gold and silver medals.
Sharon and Shirley were among the first Aboriginals[1] to represent Canada at four Olympic Winter Games – Sapporo, Japan, in 1972; Innsbruck, Austria, in 1976; Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1980; and Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, in 1984. The sisters did not win any gold medals but they became an inspiration for all Canadians. In the 1972 games, Sharon placed 26th in the 5 km event which stood as a Canadian best for 26 years.
The girls faced cultural isolation and racism. They sometimes felt singled out and treated differently by coaches. They did not get discouraged but drew strength from each other. Many indigenous kids back home were watching them. Sharon and Shirley behaved as women that they could look up to. It inspired many young indigenous people to participate in sports who might not have otherwise.
In the 1976 games in Innsbruck, Austria, Shirley helped Canada finish seventh in the cross-county relay event. Sharon skied to a 29th place finish in the 5 km race. In the 1980 games at Lake Placed the girls were recognized as national sensations. Shirley skied to a 24th place in the 10 km, 28th in the 5 km. Sharon earned 29th in the 10 km and 35th in the 5 km. They helped Canada’s relay team to an 8th place win.
Shirley was the best Canadian skier on the World Cup circuit in 1981, becoming the only Canadian woman to compete in four World Championships. In 1983 she married Jan Larsson whom she’d met in Finland.
Even though they were 26 years old, and some considered them to be too old, they were selected to go to the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. They were the first Canadian woman skiers to do so. Shirley finished 28th in the 5 km, 22nd, in the 10 km, and 25th in the 20 km. Sharon placed 29th in the 5 km, 29th in the 10 km, and 21st in the 20 km. Shirley then retired and moved to France. Sharon continued to ski and would become the first Canadian to win the Great American Ski Chase in 1985. She retired later that year.
The women have been honored in many other ways:
-The girls were the first Nordic skiers to win the John Semmelink Memorial Award by the Canadian Ski Association for contributions to skiing in Canada. In 1975, Sharon became the first Canadian woman to sweep Gold awards in 3 events at the North American Championships.
-Ski Racing magazine voted Sirley Firth the Canadian women’s Nordic Skier of the year six times.
-In 1987 the siters were named as members of the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
-The sisters were inducted into the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Museum in 1990.
-They were inducted into the Northwest Territories sport Hall of Fame in 2012.
-Sharon and Shirley received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.
-In 2005 they received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award.
-In 2015, Shirley and Sharon became the first Indigenous women welcomed into Canadas’ sports Hall of Fame.
-A special award came in 2018 when Canada Post released a stamp featuring the sisters. The stamps highlight both their sporting triumphs and their Gwich’in heritage and was intended to show that the women were not just skiers, but also cultural ambassadors.
In 1985 an award was set up in their honor – The Shirley and Sharon Anne Firth Award, by Nordique, Canada. This organization promotes both downhill and cross-country skiing for all Canadians and recreation and promotes athletic excellence. Top athletes compete for this award.
Sharon Anne was asked to make an animated appearance in a children’s television series “Molly of Denali”. She is one of the first actors to do her own voice on this show. Sharon continued to inspire youth and share her message of healthy living for the government of the Northwest Territories. One of her messages is that the power of sports can help build a better world. It builds team work and community.
There have been several documentaries about the sisters – The Firth Sisters From the Tundra (2002) and Chief & Champions (2007). The films reveal the challenging conditions in the north in the snow-packed tundra. The sisters also speak candidly about racism as well as the feeling of responsibility to Indigenous youth who were looking up to them.
Shirley Firth passed away in 2013.
Both of the sisters have left an enduring legacy in Canadian skiing. They will remain an inspiration for many future generations. They left behind incredible records that few have surpassed. Their success helped pave the way for other indigenous athletes.
[1] In Canada the indigenous people are also referred to as Aboriginal.
