This article expands a plenary lecture I delivered at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport’s 2017 conference in Windsor, Canada.1 Windsor sits on the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations, comprised of the Ojibwa, the Odawa, and the Potawatomi peoples. Mentioning this fact is no mere historical courtesy; it is meant to acknowledge these groups’ continued existence and resistance in the face of white supremacy today. “Imperialism,” writes Linda Tuhiwai Smith (2012, p. 20), “still hurts, still destroys and is reforming itself constantly.” The fightback against imperialism and colonialism is also ever-evolving, taking on new targets, including the Olympic Games. Across the continent from the territory of the Three Fires Confederacy, in British Columbia, First Nations peoples played a driving role in activist efforts challenging the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, an episode of contention I’ll discuss in more detail.
