Dot:
High School Tackle,
Alberta, Canada
“This award will encourage me to keep doing what I love. Knowing that people out there care about me, and other girls in football, really makes me happy and gives me hope that this sport will continue to grow with women for future generations.
This sport has given me so much and having this award, I believe, will encourage other girls to join this amazing sport. When I saw a past post about this award I was so amazed that a girl just like me got an amazing opportunity, and it gave me hope to put myself out there and try myself. I will be forever grateful and will not let this opportunity pass by.”
Keep Dot in the Game: Her Story, in Her Words
"I played hockey growing up my whole life, and I was always the most aggressive on my team. I was not as fast or as small as the other girls, so I learned to use my size and strength in the game. I grew up with a lot of my cousins playing football, but I never really had any interest in playing until I moved across the country. I thought, "I don't know anybody here, so it would not hurt to try something new," so I tried it and fell in love.
I had the chance to play with the National Indigenous U18 female tackle football team in the summer of '24, and I think that was the moment I really fell in love with it. I got to play with girls who were exactly like me and play against girls who all worked for the same thing as me. It was an amazing experience, and I hope I can get the chance to do it again next year. My favourite moment recently is when I got to run the ball in a high school boys' football game. I did not do amazing, I will admit, but no other girl has gotten to do that in my program, so it is an amazing feeling to know that I might be paving the way for other girls.
Being the only girl on a high school boys' football team, I think, is one of the hardest things anyone can go through. For me, I feel like sometimes I need to prove to my teammates that I deserve to be on that field, which no one should have to feel. I also feel being an Indigenous female athlete is even harder. Indigenous women going missing every day, and it is hardly talked about. Not only am I the only girl on my team, but I am also the only Indigenous female. It's not very often you find an Indigenous girl on an all-boys tackle football team, so I will always try to stand in my place proudly.
Getting what you worked so hard for is always worth it. All of the hours I spent on the field, in the gym, with my head in my playbook... It was painful and exhausting but so worth it. I feel more confident with myself and can proudly talk about myself and my achievements with other people."
Post Award Updates:
Dot has had an amazing year of football. She was part of team Alberta and won the National Championship. In game 2, She was awarded Offensive Player of The Game. She also won the offense award for the tournament. Her spring team was undefeated until playoffs. Last fall, she was part of a trial-run 6-side tackle team, which has this year been started officially for her school.
This summer, Dot tried out for the Senior High School team. She made the team as a running back.
