Clara's Lucky Loonie
Clara Hughes has her lucky loonie.
It’s a small silver pendant, meticulously crafted by a native artisan, depicting a hummingbird.
Hughes intends to wear it around her neck throughout the Olympics, most importantly, when she toes the starting line for her speed-skating specialty, the gruelling 5,000 metres.
“It’s something very special and I feel that. It’s giving me wings already,” said Hughes, who was wearing the jewellery yesterday for the announcement that she would be Canada’s flag bearer for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Hughes was given the pendant this week by a young son of native leader Tewanee Joseph, head of the Four Host First Nations on whose traditional territory the Olympics are being held.
She received the gift after travelling with her husband Peter and a few teammates to the Squamish Reserve on the North Shore of Vancouver for a secret native “brushing off” ceremony.
“His mom said he wanted me to have it. I promised him I was going to wear it for the entire Games,” Hughes recounted.
“It has a richness for me, because of that relationship I have with them [the Four Host First Nations]. It’s very special to me.”
Hughes quietly contacted the native organization nearly two years ago, sending them an e-mail stating simply: “This is who I am. I’m a speed skater. I’m probably going to be in the Olympics. Is there anything I can do with the young people?”
She said she was anxious to connect with the aboriginal community because of her upbringing in Winnipeg.
“Having so many friends there who were aboriginal, my life has been really influenced by Canada’s First Nations, and the aboriginal connection is one thing that’s really important to me about these Games.”
The connection she subsequently made with the Four Host First Nations here is “greater than what the Olympics have to offer. ... It’s something I try to find at every Games,” Hughes said.
Asked if the pendant represented her “lucky loonie,” the veteran speed skater laughed.
“I guess you could say that. ... For me, I wear this around my neck to make sure I keep that connection with all the people I’ve met from the Four Host First Nations and the awesome things they are doing.
“If it’s done right, the impact of all this on aboriginal youth could be these Games’ great legacy.”
