LAC LA BICHE – Retired Canadian professional mixed martial arts competitor and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre was a keynote speaker at the Ahkameyimok Oskayak Youth Conference, which took place Feb. 13 and 14 at Lac La Biche’s Bold Centre.
The forum was put by the Opikihawasowin Tribal Chief Children Family Services West Society as a way of motivating and helping youth from Beaver Lake Cree Nation, Whitefish Lake First Nation, and Heart Lake Cree Nation.
On the morning of Feb. 14, St-Pierre joined Indigenous leaders from the Lac La Biche region, including Beaver Lake Cree Nation Chief Gary Lameman, along with elders and traditional dancers, for the grand entry into the Bold Centre Community Hall.
After dances, prayers and speeches, St-Pierre took to the stage to give a motivational speech to the youth and adults in attendance. In addition to talking about his career as a mixed martial artist and his journey to achieving his dream, St-Pierre also spoke about his early life growing up in Saint-Isidore, Quebec.
As a child, St-Pierre was frequently bullied in school, and his parents enroled him in martial arts classes so that he could learn how to defend himself.
Besides having difficulty at school, things were also tough at home for the future UFC champion. He explained that his father had an issue with alcoholism, which was causing many problems for the family.
“I grew up with a lot of anger . . . a lot of negative energy,” he said.
Wanting to channel that angst and negative energy into something positive, St-Pierre focused on learning karate, which helped transform his life. He felt most comfortable when he was at the dojo (studio) studying and training in the Japanese martial art. He also starting competing and winning medals.
“When you develop a passion for something, you get more interested in it and you put more hard work in it, and if you put more hard work in it, you become better,” he told the crowd.
Karate built his confidence. Before getting into martial arts, St-Pierre explained that he did not carry himself confidently and could not look others in the eye.
“At that time, I couldn’t imagine that I would be talking in front of an audience like this . . . it was unthinkable,” he said.
Things started to get better for St-Pierre. When he was in his early teens, his father quit drinking, which he said helped reunite his family and bring them closer together.
St-Pierre’s father then became a mentor for youth who were struggling with alcohol addiction.
“It’s OK . . . to have fun sometimes, but if you don’t have control over it, it can destroy your life . . . and that’s what almost happened to my family,” he said.
During his youth, the devoted karate practitioner was introduced to the UFC and became interested in pursuing a career as a mixed martial arts fighter.
He saw former UFC champion Royce Gracie fighting on TV, which served to inspire him further.
St-Pierre was told by others that he could not achieve his dream. However, he used this as a motivation to continue to train and persevere until he made it to the UFC.
“No matter how big your ambitions are, your dreams, there are always going to be people that will doubt you,” he said.
Achieving any goal, St-Pierre told the crowd, cannot be done without dedication and hard work. Also, it’s important for people to get out of their comfort zones.
“Nobody will give it to you for free,” he acknowledged. “Life doesn’t work that way . . . You’re going to have to earn it, and that’s what I did.”
Georgette Dion, prevention coordinator for the Mamowe Opikihawasowin Tribal Chief Child and Family Services West Society, based in Goodfish (Whitefish) Lake, said the purpose of the Ahkameyimok Oskayak Youth Conference is to bring youth together and help them in areas such as mental and physical well-being, coping with stress and anxiety, as well as offering cultural awareness and teachings.
“We’re struggling with mental health in the communities . . . addictions in the communities, you know, even with parents and addictions, poverty,” Dion told Lakeland This Week. “We’re trying to help the youth learn tools that will help them in every day life that they can take home. If they can pick up one thing, that’s lots, because then they can use that in their life.”
Cole Gladue, a member of Beaver Lake Cree Nation council, said the two-day conference provided a lot of helpful information and advice.
“We wanted to get as much in front of our youth as we possibly could, be that culturally, or . . . just things like how to cope with day-to-day life and stresses . . . get them information on how to deal with cyberbullying and all kinds of different life skills that they’ll use throughout their life,” he said. “That’s why we put it together.”
Indigenous people, Gladue continued, have always come together and gathered.
“This is just another iteration of that . . . a modern version of it, and one that’s really focused on our youth.”
