---

BEAVERTON, OR – Manitoulin’s very own Autumn Peltier is being seen around the world as part of her work on the new Nike N7 x Pendleton collection of sportswear that works to empower Indigenous peoples.

“The N7 campaign is basically about helping to amplify (Indigenous) voices and empower positive change for the future,” said Anishinabek Nation Chief Water Commissioner Autumn Peltier, the 15-year-old from Wiikwemkoong who has recently attained world fame for her advocacy work to protect clean water around the world.

According to Autumn, Nike was seeking inspiring Indigenous women for this campaign and she was one of those selected to model this year’s N7 lineup.

On first glance, it might appear that this is yet another example of a young person gaining a strong following and then choosing to “sell out” for personal gain. And Autumn has indeed received several messages following the announcement of this collection that followed that exact narrative. But this Nike project offers a much deeper connection to a broader purpose than simply selling this year’s fashions.

“The campaign is all about empowering youth through N7, which is one of the best programs Nike has. It’s about inspiring Indigenous youth and I thought, being who I am, that having my picture out there will inspire youth,” said Autumn.

Nike N7 is billed as the “Native American division” of the company. It began in 2000 as a way of providing Nike products to Native American tribes for use in health promotion and disease prevention programs. Some years later, the company produced a shoe that was explicitly for Indigenous athletes. In 2009, the N7 brand grew to offer its products to anyone who wished to support Indigenous initiatives.

“Sport gives you self-confidence, enabling you to be a force for positive change in your community. Nike N7 and the N7 Fund are aligned with Nike’s community impact commitment to get kids moving through sport and play so that they can lead healthier, happier and more successful lives,” reads a description of the initiative on the Nike N7 Fund website.

Since 2009, the N7 Fund has given more than $7.5 million in grants to more than 250 Indigenous organizations and communities.

This year’s Nike N7 x Pendleton collection was designed by Phoebe Nez, a Navajo designer who learned how to weave traditional rug patterns from her late great-grandmother. It commemorates 10 years since the N7 line was available for sale for the general public.

The N7 line employs Indigenous designers, has used Indigenous models for its publicity photos and its proceeds support Indigenous initiatives, so Autumn said the project was one she wanted to support.

Nike’s N7 Fund offers annual grants of either 15- or 20-thousand dollars to Canadian registered First Nations and non-profit groups that serve sports initiatives to young Indigenous clients (90 percent Indigenous participants or more). However, the website’s last-reported grant recipients were from more than a year ago.

Autumn has also been busy with other initiatives such as a recent television shoot at her home in Wiikwemkoong.

“It’s a series about health and the episode I’m in is about inspiring young activists on Etalk,” said Autumn.

Much of the shoot was conducted outside and the temperatures were below minus 20°C with the wind chill on the day the crew visited Wiikwemkoong, which made the process a tad challenging.

Autumn gets many requests to take part in projects such as this and she said she agreed to take part because it was aimed to highlight young activists.

“With that message behind it, saying they also wanted to help inspire other young activists, that’s something I advocate for and I thought it was really cool,” said Autumn.

She said her segment was scheduled to air on January 1.

The story was originally published by the Manitoulin Expositor. Used by permission.

 

 

---

This afternoon, our Greater Sudbury Police Service Traffic Management Unit partnered up with the Ontario Provincial Police, Action Sudbury, Safe Ride Home Sudbury, MADD Canada and Canadian Blood Services for this year’s Festive RIDE program launch.

As motorists proceeded through, Officers and Civilians handed out Tim Horton’s gift cards and thank you cards to all those who made the responsible decision to drive sober.

Throughout the month of December, Officers will be holding random RIDE checks throughout Sudbury to ensure drivers are sober.

The ultimate goal of our yearly festive RIDE checks is to ensure our community is safe during the holiday season. Instead of drinking and driving after your holiday dinner or party, plan ahead and make sure you have a safe ride home. Don’t let one foolish decision to drive impaired ruin your life or someone else’s.

You always have options! There is no excuse to drive impaired. Ever. You can use public transit, call a taxi, stay the night, or call a friend or family member to pick you up.

Not to mention, Safe Ride Home Sudbury is a free, confidential service in which clients are driven home in their own vehicle by a team of volunteers during the holiday season. This year they have been running since Nov 15th, 2019 and will continue until January 31st, 2019.

When you are ready to be picked up, you can call Safe Ride Home Sudbury at 705-675-CALL (2255) and a team will be dispatched to your location at the earliest opportunity. Learn more: http://www.saferidehomesudbury.ca/index.html

 

Drive safe. Drive sober.

 

 

---

As 2019 draws to a close, it’s time to reflect upon the the world of running’s insane year–most notably, the shocking number of world records that have fallen in the past 11 months (11, not including junior or age-group world records, of which there were also many).

Here’s a look at the world records set on the road and track in 2019.

-Joshua Cheptegei has just set a new 10km WR 26:38. No prizes for guessing what shoes he was wearing... #cheatshoes -In March Yomif Kejelcha ran his third world record attempt in three weeks, and the third time was a charm. He ran a 3:47.01 at Boston University to break the indoor mile world record by over a second. -Sifan Hassan ran a new mile world record this July at the Monaco Diamond League. Her new record of 4:12.33 was set off a shockingly slow pace, considering how fast the race ultimately was. -Jim Walmsley took down the 50-mile world record with his 4:50:08 (by 43 seconds)–that’s 50 consecutive 5:48 miles (between 3:35 and 3:40 kilometres) at the May race designed to showcase the Hoka One One Carbon X. -At the 2019 Chicago Marathon, Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei ran a women’s marathon world record of 2:14:04. Other than her pacers, the runner was completely alone for almost the entire marathon. She shattered Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year-old world record of 2:15:25, which many considered to be nearly unbeatable and one of the toughest in the books. -Dalilah Muhammad set a world record and broke it again within the same season. The American 400m hurdler won the World Championships in a new world record of 52.16, bettering her old world record set earlier this year at 52.23. The Americans went one-two with Sydney McLaughlin finishing second, just 0.03s off of the former world record in 52.23. -American ultrarunner Zach Bitter finished 100 miles in 11:19:13 at the Six Days in the Dome event in Wisconsin this August, beating the previous record held by Russian athlete Oleg Kharitonov at 11:28:03. -Great Britain’s Aly Dixon smashed the 50K world record at the World Championships in September in Brasov, Romania. Dixon ran a 3:07:20 to break the record in her first-ever ultra marathon. The previous record was held by Frith Van de Merwe in 3:08:39 from 1989. -Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya broke the half-marathon world record with an astounding 58:01 in Copenhagen in September, bettering Abraham Kiptum’s 58:18 set in Valencia last October by 17 seconds. (Kiptum was suspended for a doping violation in April, but his world record stood.) Five other men had sub-60 finishes in the Danish capital that day. -American ultrarunner Camille Herron broke her own world record at the 24-Hour World Championships this October, which took place in Albi, France. Herron ran 270.116 kilometres, eight kilometres farther than her previous world record of 262.192K, set at Desert Solstice in December 2018. -Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia broke the women’s 15K world record with her 44:19 finish at the NN Zevenheuvelenloop in Nijmegen, Netherlands on November 17. The record was held previously by the newly-crowned TCS New York City Marathon champion and half-marathon world record-holder Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya at 45:37, from the 2017 Prague Half-Marathon (where she also set the half-marathon world record). Gidey took more than a minute off Jepkosgei’s record. -World cross and 10,000m champion Cheptegei of Uganda made good on his intention to break the world record in the road 10K at the Valencia Marathon on December 1, running 26:38, six seconds faster than Leonard Komon’s previous record of 26:44, set at Utrecht in 2010. -Honourable mention: Kipchoge’s 1:59   In Vienna, Austria this October, Eliud Kipchoge made history, becoming the first person to run a marathon in under two hours. Kipchoge finished the historic event in   1:59:40.