Ethan Bear is proud of where he comes from and those from the Ochapowace First Nation may be even more proud of Ethan. And they should be.
Ethan has had to face racism throughout his life. As awful as it is, it still comes with the territory of being a visible minority. He heard it across the province of Saskatchewan as a young hockey player and into his junior career and now after a triple overtime in the NHL, Bear was the brunt of racism.
Ethan Bear is still a young defenceman making his way in the NHL but more importantly he will never forget where he comes from. Like his idol, the late Fred Sasakamoose, he is making sure he shows the light to youth in the Indigenous community.
Nobody should have to face the hate because of their skin colour or background, but Ethan is showing his community an amazing example again. He’s hoping this is another lesson we can all learn from, to try to spark change, so the next Indigenous player doesn’t have to face the hatred he has and Fred Sasakamoose did before him.