From Ross River to the North American Indigenous Games: Meet Team Yukon's flag bearer
'When you come here, the energy and the vibe is crazy,' swimmer Kassua Dreyer said at the Games
Kassua Dreyer, Team Yukon's flag bearer at the opening ceremonies of the North American Indigenous Games this past weekend, says she was thinking about her family back home as the big event got underway.
"I truly wouldn't be able to be here and standing here at these games without them," she said.
"I'm just so excited to be here."
Dreyer, 18, is originally from the small, remote community of Ross River, Yukon, and is a citizen of the Ross River Dena Council. She later moved to Whitehorse where she trained with the Whitehorse Glacier Bears swim team.
At 12, she made waves at the 2017 North American Indigenous Games by winning six medals.
In 2019, she moved to B.C. and swam with the Kelowna Aquajets, before enrolling at the University of Calgary last fall and joining the university's Dinos swim team.
She says being in Calgary has been good for her swimming, and she's excited to mingle with other Indigenous athletes this week.
"I know when I go out to school and stuff it's sometimes difficult to find other Indigenous athletes, but when you come here, the energy and the vibe is crazy, and just like getting to meet other athletes is exciting and fun," she said.
Serving as flagbearer and representing her team that way was humbling, she said.
"I'm very honoured," she said.
Ray Betuzzi, an assistant coach with the Dinos, said going to the games has been a priority for Dreyer, so they made sure to arrange her summer training around it.
Betuzzi said Dreyer's a very hard-worker who always seems to have a positive attitude.
"She's someone who has kind of that infectious charisma that just kinda lifts everyone else up around her," Betuzzi said.
He said it's always fun to see athletes who come from smaller places, step up onto a larger stage.
"I think that's part of why they enjoy the sport so much, you know, they have that humble beginning, and then they get to experience it all — and they love what they do and it kind of drives them forward," he said.
With files from George Maratos