Brigette lacquette

About b. Lacquette...


Born on November 10 1992 in Manitoba, Brigette Lacquette is a Canadian ice hockey player who is named as the first First Nations hockey player to be part of Canada's National Women's Team and to play for the Canadian Women's Olympic hockey team.

Outside of her professional hockey life, she spends her time volunteering and visiting various schools to share her life and her hockey journey, giving inspiration and motivation to many students.


Lacquette playing at the Women's Four Nations Cup in 2016

Brigette Lacquette's Profile for Team Canada

Lacquette with Peguis Central School students

Lacquette at the age of 7, with her hockey stick

Early life

Lacquette grew up in a small remote Métis community of 120 people in Mallard, Manitoba and is a member of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi and the Cote First Nations. She began skating at the age of four and was introduced to hockey at the age of five by her father and her cousins. As Lacquette improved over time at playing, she had the chance to play on a triple A summer hockey team with her sister, Tara, who also fell in love with the position of goalie. For her, this was a turning-point in her sports life, as she experienced an unexpected event at her first tournament at the age of 12, where she faced her first racial remark. She was involved in a pushing with another player where they both started shoving and the other player said to Lacquette: "Get off me you dirty Indian.", and later on, she encountered other taunts as well, such as "Go back to the reserve." Lacquette surely wanted to quit at times due to many racial experiences she had to face growing up, but she was always supported by her father, who was also her coach when she was young, and she persevered and continued playing hockey and became the person who she is now.

Lacquette explained how her father was a big support to her throughout her journey: "He told me, "Beat them on the ice." In other words: Be the better person, don't give in to those taunts, be so focused on yourself and your own success so that when they say things like that to you, it's a knock on them, not you.

I have carried that speech with me ever since. I've been called every name in the book since then, but I never let it get to me. That one simple piece of advice from my dad helped me turn that negative experience into a positive one."

Professional Career & Accomplishments

In August 2008, Lacquette was called to the National Women's U18 Team for the first time, where she won silver and gold medals at the 2009 and 2010 IIHF U18 Women's World Championships with her teammates. Then, she continued and joined her first ever National Women's Team to play at the 2013 Four Nations Cup, winning the gold medal, and in 2015, Lacquette made her IIHF Women's World Championship debut, helping in winning the first of two back-to-back silver medals with Canada. 3 years later, she made history by becoming the first First Nations woman to play on Canada's women's Olympic hockey team and made her Olympic debut at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, where she and her team brought back home a silver medal.

Furthermore, Lacquette has also played for the University of Manitoba Bisons and at the University of Minnesota-Duluth at the NCAA level.

Lacquette with her 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Silver Medal

Having the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate at the Olympics, Lacquette describes her feelings by saying: “It was one of the proudest moments of my life. Being told I made it was a dream come true.”

VOLUNTEER WORK & INSPIRATION

Lacquette, at Piikani Nation Secondary School, posing for a picture while on a motivational tour to First Nations communities across Canada

Lacquette with her fans during Esso Fun Day, which was an evening for an introduction to hockey for female players

Lacquette (far left) with her family

Lacquette spent a lot of her time devoting in mentorship. She is partnered with the Classroom Champions organization, which connects athletes and youth of Indigenous heritage. Many young First Nations children look up to her and recognize her as their rold model, especially girls who play hockey. Back when Lacquette was young, she grew up playing hockey, being inspired by Jordin Tootoo, an Inuit hockey play who made the NHL. She loves being a role model to many young athletes and having the opportunity to inspire and motivate them: "I'm super excited to be that role model for those kids. Growing up I really didn't have that female role model to look up to," said Lacquette. "It's just very special for me to be that role model for young First Nation girls across Canada, Indigenous kids across Canada. I'm just super excited to be that person for them."


In addition, while growing up in an indigenous family, one thing she learned was values. According to Lacquette, being raised in an indigenous family, is not just being raised by her parents but by her entire family, such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles, cousins who were like her brothers and sisters. She credits her family for teaching her the value of hard work, how to take care of her family, how to lend and be a helping hand to others, for showing her humility and how to be a humble person, and for making her into the woman she is today by following:

"One thing you learn while growing up in an indigenous home is values. An indigenous home means being raised by not just by your parents, but by your entire family -- uncles, aunts, grandmothers and grandfathers. Our first cousins weren't really cousins, they were our brothers and sisters. Aunts and uncles treated us like their own kids. Every one of them had a part in making me the woman I am today, and instilling in me the values I believe in. They taught me to be humble and to show humility in everything I do. They taught me the value of hard work. Hard work shows discipline, which is a valuable skill to possess. When I was growing up, working hard showed my parents that we wanted to be doing whatever we were doing, wherever we were doing it. They also taught me about taking care of your family. Part of having a family means taking care of your relations near and far, making sure they have a roof over their heads and food on their table, and ensuring that whoever is in your home is comfortable. They taught me always to lend a helping hand, with no questions asked."


To this day, Lacquette strives to be a better person and to inspire so many young indigenous children by giving them encouragement. She also admired few Canadian athletes, such as Hayley Wickenheiser and Caroline Ouellette. Her father is just so proud of the person she has become and said: "Every place she goes, whether she goes to a mall, or a hockey rink, or a baseball diamond … girls are constantly coming up to her and asking if [they] can take a picture together. I'm just honoured to be the father of a girl who's going to be doing that for First Nations people. I don't take it lightly. It's quite an accomplishment."

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HER?

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@Brigette Lacquette

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