At the intersection of ideas and action, this is Longitude Sound Bytes, where we bring innovative insights from around the world directly to you.

Hi everyone! My name is Tony Zhou, and I am a Longitude Fellow from the University of British Columbia. Today, I have the pleasure of presenting this sound byte by Russell Sheppard. Russell is a lawyer and owner of Spruce Notary & Legal, and has enjoyed a successful career throughout Canada in education, administration, and coaching lacrosse. He will be sharing experiences from his first-job-after-college as a teacher in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, where he initiated and coached a lacrosse team that infused optimism and hope in the community. His story was recently adapted into the 2018 film The Grizzlies, which is available on Netflix.

When I got to University of Saskatchewan to do a teaching degree, I was introduced to a sessional lecturer named Al Lucic, who’s, you know, a pioneer of lacrosse in Western Canada, I would say. Al’s passion for the game was totally infectious. I loved coaching. And once I picked up a stick and went out with Al, and you know, he kind of got our skills going, I realized that I just love the game of lacrosse. So I started to coach in Saskatchewan while I was in the university, and then shortly after that, I got my first major teaching job up in the Arctic Circle.

I had an interview, obviously over the phone, and then a job offer came in. I was a social studies teacher. And one of the things I realized very quickly was I knew nothing about this area of my own country. Little bit of shame on me for not knowing that. But I had been brought up in a home that was very open and welcoming and multicultural and it really intrigued me, this opportunity to go to our north to work with students that I knew nothing about, in a culture I knew nothing about. And just to try that adventure out. And so in 1998, I jumped on the plane, and in August, and with shorts on in plus-20 degrees in Saskatoon and landed in you know, minus four and snow in in Kugluktuk, Nunavut. I was 23. I was gonna go for a year and see how it went, and one became seven.

I’ll never forget flying in because I just remember the vast tundra – no trees, lakes, and rock, but how beautiful it was. It was absolutely stunning flying in there. When I landed, I had a great support network with some of the teachers that were there, and the phrase I was told right away was that, “These are great kids, just some of them aren’t great students.” And that phrase really sticks with me today, you know, the students in general and Inuit people, you know, where I call home now in Kugluktuk, were very welcoming, and very family oriented. And very supportive of people coming into their community and working with them. Now, that doesn’t happen overnight, you have to take some time and put some time in and actually care. But once you’ve earned that opportunity, it’s an unbelievable experience. And like I said, it’s why I still call that area of Canada home to me.

I didn’t introduce lacrosse right away outside of physical education. We had a very difficult second year, with suicides in the community. It was very defeating in many ways. It was a very hard year, but wasn’t horrible. The resolve in the students was and Inuit people and community members going through these difficult times was unbelievable to watch. It was unbelievable to see how they were able to deal with death, and sudden death. And to see that inner strength, it was really inspiring in some ways, which is why I think I made the decision to come back. I came back and that summer, introduced lacrosse. The decision was to come back and actually change what was happening in our school. Well, why don’t we create an environment where students want to come to the school? Why don’t we turn the culture of the school to be something that is inclusive, but also exclusive, and exclusive being for people who wanted to be there. It was the cool thing to do. And so we came back that fall in October, and the Kugluktuk Grizzlies was born. The one thing I love about the movie is how they flipped me into the student. I think at the end of year two, I realized I was the student on this ride, and I’m going to see it out and see what I learn.

[The sound byte of Mr. Sheppard is a clip from his interview with the Canadian Lacrosse Foundation on the Lacrosse Legends show and featured with his permission.]

Tony Zhou, Longitude fellow, University of British Columbia: