In November, the Toronto Raptors celebrated the numerous contributions of Indigenous athletes across the country through a partnership with the Toronto Transit Commission. Mike Tanton, who recently received a Saskatchewan Sport Award for his Volunteer Dedication, was selected as one of the Raptors eight featured athletes.
The Raptors initiative is in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Call to Action No. 87. This action calls upon all levels of government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, sports halls of fame, and other relevant organizations, to provide public education that tells the national story of Aboriginal athletes in history.
Tanton has left an exceptional mark provincially and nationally as co-founder of One Love Basketball (2016) and the Living Skies Indigenous Basketball League (2019), as well as through his contributions as two-time North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) Chef de Mission. He has attended NAIG on five occasions and has volunteered as a basketball coach for three consecutive Games. He also continues to coach teams and youth camps since first co-founding the two basketball programs.
Sport acts as a vehicle that carries the foundation on which individuals can build camaraderie, furthering Tanton’s belief that “if we can play together, we can live together.”
The campaign features athletes who share similar social influences as Tanton. Spanning from various eras in history, starting with Tom Longboat, the first Indigenous person to win the Boston Marathon in 1907 to five-time Paralympian in wheelchair basketball Richard Peter.
Tanton, alongside the others celebrated in the campaign, are featured on the side of specially wrapped buses and streetcars and on posters in TTC stations in Toronto.
In part of the celebration, Tanton and others were invited to attend the Toronto Raptors’ Specialty Night on November 15, 2023.
The campaign will run until the end of February in Toronto. Tanton’s campaign videos are available on the Toronto Raptors Youtube channel and his web feature is available at culture.raptors.com