Broadcasters Clarence Iron and Jason Chamakese called the Prince Albert Raiders' recent exhibition game in Cree. (Rob Mahon/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Cree Hockey Broadcast

Longtime Indigenous broadcaster calls Raiders exhibition game in Cree

Sep 7, 2022 | 4:00 PM

Although it was an exhibition game, there were quite a few unique elements to the contest between the Prince Albert Raiders and the Saskatoon Blades. It started with the location of the game on Big River First Nation at their new sports complex and it continued with the broadcast.

Longtime hockey voice Clarence Iron was the man on the play-by-play, with colour commentator Jason Chamakese from Pelican Lake First Nation. Not only was it an Indigenous duo on the call, but they called the entire game in Cree.

“Right now, Indigenous languages are very important for our nation,” said Iron. “We’re losing our languages. Not only the Cree language but there are also a lot of other languages. Dene, Blackfoot Nation, Dakota… we’re trying to preserve the languages.”

Iron is a longtime broadcaster who has called NHL games as part of Hockey Night in Canada in Cree. He’s also done some work with the SJHL and the Raiders, though it’s been a few years.

“I did one before with the Prince Albert Raiders, back in the day when Rod Pedersen was an announcer,” said Iron. “I sat with him and did a little bit of play-by-play.”

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Before the game, Iron could be found in the press box reviewing pronunciations and player numbers. It’s part of a long-established routine of preparation for the veteran broadcaster.

“You’ve got to be prepared,” Iron said. “You can’t just come in here and grab a sheet of paper, it takes a while. In the NHL, it gives you one month ahead of time, you know who’s going to play. So you’ve got a whole month to study the players.”

Preserving the Cree language is a personally important goal to Iron, who says bringing it into the sporting world is just another means of doing it. Adding it in schools is another, though Iron came by his own Cree education in another fashion.

“I’m very lucky, I’m very blessed,” said Iron. “I was raised by elders that spoke the Cree language only. That was my first language. When I went to school, I didn’t know my (English) name was Clarence.”

For Iron, his education in the Cree language began at home and that has shaped his views on the matter. His advice to parents trying to preserve or pass on the languages is to do so at home and to take children out into nature to not only hear what words represent but to show them as well.

“Talk to your kids at home, whatever language you’re speaking, because that’s where it starts,” Iron said.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP