Player’s Own Voice podcast: Waneek Horn-Miller, Canada’s ultimate coach | CBC Sports

Excellence was always expected of Waneek Horn-Miller and her three sisters. 

Their single mom led by example in committing to activism, feminism, and Indigenous rights. From childhood, the message was: Whatever you do in life, be great at it, and don’t just do it for yourself, do it for the next generation.

More than 30 years after she first came to international attention on the front lines of the Oka Crisis in 1990, Horn-Miller continues to honour her mother’s teaching. 

In 2000, the water polo player helped deliver the best Olympic results Canadian women have ever seen with a fifth-place finish in Sydney.

In the years since, Horn-Miller’s advocacy has kept important issues on the table. Abuse in amateur sport, and the role of sport in truth and reconciliation, are core concerns. For Horn-Miller the effort begins at home, raising well-rounded and athletic daughters, and radiates out to coaching at water polo clubs, then further afield, helping the Assembly of First Nations develop an Indigenous sport, fitness and wellness strategy.

While those long-term causes keep Horn-Miller focused on lasting results, she’s also enjoying coaching contestants on Canada’s Ultimate Challenge, CBC’s new reality program. Horn-Miller sets the bar high for herself in this role, urging her athletes to compete according to principles that are long understood among Mohawk people — even if they may be new values for non-Indigenous contestants to consider. 

It’s a challenging task, but as her chat with Player’s Own Voice podcast host Anastasia Bucsis makes clear, Waneek Horn-Miller excels at it.

There are transcripts of our podcasts for a hard-of-hearing audience. To listen to Waneek Horn-Miller, Camryn Rogers, Bev Priestman, Allison Forsyth, Jason Priestley, Mimi Rahneva, Cito Gaston, Robert Parish, Aaron Brown, Kaylyn Kyle, Kurt Browning, Bianca Farella, Summer McIntosh, Beckie Sauerbrunn or any of the guests from earlier seasons, go to CBC Listen or wherever else you get your podcasts.