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On Monday, the PWHL joined in the growing recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a holiday that celebrates Indigenous strength and heritage while confronting the historical injustices and challenges the Indigenous population still face today. The timing of the holiday provides the perfect opportunity to share an excerpt from a yet-to-be-released Ice Garden feature on Shaiyena Côté – exclusively for our wonderful newsletter readers!
Côté is a Temagami First Nations member and hockey player who’s pursuing secondary education abroad and strives to work in professional hockey. Côté’s story illustrates how the intersectionality of identity can serve as fuel for one’s ambitions and dreams, yet simultaneously create many of the barriers met along the way.
Côté, who’s back in Sweden to complete the second year of her master’s program, is aiming to “try and bridge the gap of gender and being Indigenous.”
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“That’s my big reason why,” she said. “That’s why I want to raise awareness and be a role model. Post-secondary education is important. We need our people to be educated, and it’s important to challenge yourself, whether it’s hockey or a different sport, or, I don’t know, astrophysics. Just go out there, challenge yourself!
Côté, who grew up three hours south of the Bear Island reserve, posed her own question when asked about her perspectives as an Indigenous athlete.
“For the most part, they [people on the reserve] will stay there for their entire life,” Côté said. “So, the question weighs in … I was given opportunities off reserve, but are those opportunities the same that are given to the youth on reserve?”
She dives into an example of education and how funding for tuition and living expenses is distributed for Indigenous students seeking higher education.
“Unfortunately, in Canada, Native people are not known for pursuing or even graduating high school,” Côté explained. “The graduation rates for post-secondary are even lower, and the amount of students are even lower.”
Côté’s family, especially her grandmother, who was not afforded that opportunity as a young woman, placed a high value on her pursuing education.
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The Canadian government has invested several hundred million dollars specifically for post-secondary education for First Nations communities, but Côté feels there has been a lack of transparency from her community as to where that money is going. She describes the multi-year-long battle she’s had trying to receive financial support from her First Nations community to complete her sports management master’s degree in Sweden.
“I had to fight with them when I applied for sport management because they said, ‘We’re not going to fund it. There’s no career. What do you want to do?’ I was like, ‘Hold on, I have a very specific career path,’” Côté said.
Despite her father serving as a traditional chief and her family having extremely close connections within the community, Côté feels it’s been an unnecessarily difficult process.
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“My biggest thing was, you’ve got an Indigenous, female athlete who is doing a master’s degree. Why wouldn’t you fund her?” Côté said. “So that was the biggest question for me, super frustrating.”
Côté, as one of only 50 post-secondary applicants within her 1,000-member community, eventually received the funds but still calls for transparency.
“I think it’s important that, honestly, I hold my community, in specific, accountable,” Côté said, “I just want answers. If you don’t like me, that’s fine. You don’t have to like me, but I think I deserve an answer.”
Côté pushes for education because she knows the importance of representation. She herself draws inspiration from other Indigenous people in the sports industry, naming Ted Nolan, the first Indigenous NHL head coach, and current Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube, in particular.
“I have been very, very inspired by the Indigenous athletes that I’ve been able to work with,” she said. “… And the thing I’ve said to everyone is it doesn’t matter what cultural background you’re from. I will always be Native. It doesn’t matter where I am, but I’ll always be Native, always be Indigenous.
“It doesn’t matter where I am in the world. I always carry that with me. So you don’t necessarily have to stay at one place to be Indigenous. You can go pursue your dreams. You can move to different countries, but that will always be with you. And that’s the biggest teaching that I’ve tried to remind kids and remind them that no matter where they are, you’ll always be Indigenous.”
Côté won the Danish Women’s League championship with Hvidovre Ishockey Klub last year while completing the first year of her master’s degree. She doesn’t know exactly what her path will look like after graduating, but she wants to be the first Indigenous woman to coach in the NHL and use her platform to inspire others from her background to dream big.
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Other reads in Women’s Hockey
Northeastern women’s hockey captain Lily Shannon has never let her hearing loss become an obstacle (The Boston Globe) – Mike Puzzanghera shares Shannon’s inspiring story from redshirt to Northeastern’s captain.
Stick Taps and Snark (The Victory Press) – Nicole Haase highlights NCAA women’s DI hockey this recent weekend.
Middlebury Women’s Ice Hockey Celebrates 50 Years (Middlebury Athletics) – Click for the picture of Middlebury playing UVM back in 1976, stay to learn about the dedicated women who fought for their sport in 1970, before the passing of Title IX.
Women’s Notes: Lavender Leads Knights (College Hockey Inc.) – After losing two back-to-back overtime heartbreakers to Long Island University last season, the Purple Knights took their first win over the Sharks since 2019.
University of St. Joseph will field men’s, women’s hockey in 2026 (ESPN) – A new DIII opportunity for women’s hockey players in 2026.
| Mondays: Soccer |
| By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer |
| Tuesdays: Tennis |
| By: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer |
| Wednesdays: Basketball |
| By: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports |
| Thursdays: Golf |
| By: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports |
| Fridays: Hockey |
| By: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden |
| Saturdays: Gymnastics |
| By: Lela Moore, @runlelarun, Freelance Writer |
