Terry's Story
Terry Sedgewick is from the George Gordon First Nation, located in Treaty 4 Territory in Touchwood Hills, Saskatchewan. His family relocated to Chilliwack, BC, when Terry was 8, and despite a consistently abusive home life, he found solace playing sports: basketball, hockey, rugby, and soccer.
Terry eventually had the opportunity to move to Scotland to play for the Melrose Rugby Club. He then returned to Canada to attend UBC, where he played on the Varsity rugby team. He later became a professional triathlete.
Terry and his son are voting members of the George Gordon First Nation, and much of Terry's extended family live on the Gordon Reserve.
When Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation discovered 215 unmarked graves on the grounds of the former Kamloops Residential School in 2021, Terry was compelled to find out more. It was through that process that he discovered his mother was a residential school survivor, giving some context to his abusive childhood.
It was then he committed himself to making a difference.
Give a helping hand
MEND is the result of his desire to create a positive, solutions-based initiative to lift Indigenous youth.
"My mother began to drink. I would find her passed out on the floor after school. She would disappear for days on end. My father physically abused my sister and my mother. Often, I had no breakfast or lunch, no sheets for my bed, lived in an unkept house, and would see strange men leaving the house. I also have memories of my mother trying to commit suicide. She was a residential school survivor, and the pain and shame of this experience made her self-destructive. As children, we were collateral damage. I am not sure she fully comprehended what was going on. All she wanted was to be numb."
"I tried to create a false reality about who I was so no one would know what my life was really like. Then I found sport."
I was so embarrassed by all the dysfunction that I began to hide and never invited my friends to my house. I participated in any kind of sport. It was an escape. In grade 8, I began to play rugby and basketball. My coaches became my parents, in a way. I could see that hard work got me something—recognition and awards. So, I worked harder and built up my skills and self-confidence. I wanted to succeed.
Sport was my way out and up. I was invited to join Melrose Rugby Club in Scotland, which eventually led to an academic and sports scholarship with the University of British Columbia. Injury transitioned me to a top-level Canadian triathlete. After my competitive athletic career, I became a teacher, coach, and business owner.
For me, the power of sport on young people is life-changing. As a child of a residential school survivor, sport changed my life. I want to tell you my story and talk about how we might be able to work together to effect change in the current generation of Indigenous children who are still feeling the effects of residential schools.
"I worked harder, built up my skills and eventually my self confidence. I wanted to succeed. "
"Sport was my way out and up."
"The power of sport on young people is life changing."