North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) 2023

July 15, 2023 to July 23, 2023

Halifax, Nova Scotia

The ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq People are the hosts for the 2023 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) held July 15 - 23, 2023 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The selection of Halifax represents a milestone in the NAIG movement, as it will be the first time in its thirty-year history that NAIG will be held in Atlantic Canada.

NAIG is the largest sporting and cultural gathering of Indigenous people in North America. NAIG hosts more than 5,000 participants in 16 sport categories.

Thousands of visitors will experience a cultural celebration and village at the Halifax Commons which includes dance, songs, music, games, art and teachings. New friendships will be created amongst the athletes, coaches, officials, partners and over 3,000 volunteers from Nova Scotia.

The Canadian teams competing in the 2023 NAIG are: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Eastern Door and the North (Quebec), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut - a total of 14 Provinces and Territories.

There are 12 different Regions of the USA competing at NAIG 2023, making a total of 32 States represented.

Following 2023, NAIG will be hosted every four years, with the youth event hosted in Canada. NAIG can be bid on by interested 'host candidate cities' through a comprehensive and lengthy bid process. The NAIG Council Bid Committee is responsible updating, initiating, monitoring and evaluating the bid procedures.

NAIG 2023 in Halifax will be the largest multi-sport event ever hosted in Atlantic Canada.

To get information regarding this event, please visit: Home - NAIG (www.naig2023.com)

NAIG HISTORY

The North American Indigenous Games is a multi-sport event and cultural celebration involving Indigenous athletes from across North America staged intermittently since 1990.

The dream to hold a "Games for the Indigenous Peoples" of North America began in the 1970s. The first edition of the Games was held in Edmonton, Alberta in 1990.

The NAIG Council was formed between 1992 and 1993, a 26-member council of representatives from 13 provinces and territories in Canada and 13 regions in the United States.

The vision was to improve the quality of life for Indigenous Peoples by supporting self-determined sports and cultural activities which encourage equal access to participation in the social / cultural / spiritual fabric of the community in which they reside and which respects Indigenous distinctiveness.

 

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