Swan Lake First Nation teen excels at archery in Manitoba as she connects with culture

In a sport usually dominated by men, 13-year-old Waasayah Munro-Soldier excels at archery. Now, she's set her sights on hunting with a bow and arrow — something that will connect her to traditional Indigenous values and practices.

When Waasayah first heard about archery, the member of Swan Lake First Nation in Manitoba says she didn't realize it was an actual sport. She was initially intrigued by archery hunting videos that she saw online.

"When I was first thinking about archery, I guess I started growing into it, like naturally, and started getting into it more," she said. "When I started learning archery, I guess I started connecting [with] my ancestors, like when they shot bows and arrows, ... made out of wood and made arrows out of sticks."

Waasayah, a resident of Winnipeg, started taking archery lessons in the city when she was just 10 years old. Her first competition was a provincial tournament, and she ended up taking home medals for her prowess.

Now, she's the only female on her 3D archery team.

3D archery differs from regular archery in that there's an object to aim at, instead of just a targeted bull's-eye.

Though Waasayah says it's strange to be the only female on her team, she enjoys shooting with her teammates and aiming at the different 3D foam animals. She also mentored a boy her age on the sport.

"I taught him some techniques and some advice," she said. "And [how] to adjust your grip, your anchor, all that stuff."

The Grade 8 student says she enjoys tournaments and is training in hopes of attending the North American Indigenous Games in Halifax in the summer of 2023.

Waasayah's dad, Reil Munro, says she has really taken off with the sport, but it began out of a different interest.

"The real interesting thing for us was that, when she first came to us and wanted to be an archer, her first words were that she wanted to be a hunter-gatherer," Munro said.

"And then I asked how she wanted to harvest, and she said with a bow and arrow."

Munro says his daughter's accomplishments so far have made the family proud.

"When she first started, here was this, you know, small Indigenous girl, [with] braids, and competing against a bunch of men," he said.