When you hear the name Kenneth Moore, does it carry any weight?
Is it a name that leaves you feeling sad, hopeful, angry, and inspired all at the same time? Does it resonate with distinct tones of perseverance, unabated ambition, or profound strength? Does the name Kenneth Moore leave you wanting to know more? Is it a name you celebrate alongside Jackie Robinson, Willie O’Ree, and Fred Sasakamoose?
Or, to you, does the name Kenneth Moore simply mean nothing at all?
For most – even for those most deeply entrenched in the hockey world – the name doesn’t carry an ounce of weight.
There are undoubtedly a countless number of hockey stories that should be heard, but never will be. While this is not meant to steal the spotlight off of any unjust omissions from hockey lore, this is a story that deserves more recognition.
It’s a story that begins on February 17th, 1910, when Kenneth Moore was born into a life more categorically unfair than most others to ever have picked up a hockey stick. It’s a story of the first Indigenous person to represent Canada at the Olympics, and the first Indigenous person to win a gold medal for Canada.
Moore was born in Balcarres, Saskatchewan – approximately 85km Northeast of Regina. His family was Peepeekeesis Cree Nation, meaning Moore was subject to Canada’s notorious Indian Act – a law that granted the Canadian government total authoritative power over Indigenous people.
For Moore, along with countless other Indigenous children and teenagers, this meant forced assimilation by way of the Indian Residential School system.
The Residential School system marks perhaps the darkest stain of Canada’s history. In an effort to expunge Indigenous culture, residential schools were an institutionalized way of justifying the use of force against Indigenous people. Strappings and other physical punishments were common in Residential Schools, as those of Indigenous descent were battered simply for being Indigenous.
Death was also common. Simply put, residential schools were institutionalized genocide.
Having lost two sons to the Residential School system already, Moore’s parents – James and Edith – knew they could not allow Kenneth to be sucked in. According to Jennifer Moore Rattray, Kenneth’s granddaughter, the escape was a quiet one.
“He was the next child to go, so right around the time when he would have had to go to residential school, they left the First Nation, as the family story goes,” Rattray told Indian Country Today. “They had to sneak away basically because the Indian agent had to give you permission to leave at that time.”
Kenneth’s parents made the difficult decision to leave everything behind. On top of their belongings, the Moore’s left behind their culture, their language, and their relationships as they began a new and wildly different life in Regina.
Given his new opportunity, Kenneth was able to thrive. He was a strong contributor in hockey, baseball, lacrosse, rugby, basketball, and speed skating. According to Rattray, he was even given scholarships to American schools, but due to a lack of means to get there and the inability to afford a place to stay, he instead chose to go to Campion and Regina College.
In college, Kenneth continued to thrive. He was a star athlete through and through, and in 1930 he scored the game-winning goal to win a Memorial Cup with the Regina Pats. From there, he joined the Winnipeg Hockey Club and won the Allan Cup, furthering his legacy in hockey even further.
In 1932, he competed with the Winnipeg Hockey Club representing Canada in the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
The hockey event was limited to just four countries due to the Great Depression. Canada would defeat the United States to claim its 4th consecutive gold medal at the Games, with Germany defeating Poland for bronze. Moore played in one game and scored a goal, but more importantly he became the first Indigenous person to win a gold medal for Canada.
Despite the groundbreaking accomplishment, Moore has gone widely unrecognized for his pioneering contributions to hockey and Indigenous people in sport. While others with similar accolades have since become esteemed members of various sport Hall of Fames, Moore is widely unrecognized.
This isn’t without a lack of trying on the part of Moore’s family.
Rattray first contacted the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2015 in an effort to have her grandfather’s legacy enshrined.
“I have not been successful there,” Rattray told Indian Country Today. “I’m not sure why or how, but that’s that.”
“Other senior athletes and senior Indigenous leaders have said to me, ‘we’re not quite sure why, either.’”
According to a request made by Indian Country Today, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame has an “active nomination” open for Moore. The announcement for the Class of 2022 is to be made in May, but until then we won’t know if Moore’s legacy will be further remembered.
All we can do is tell the story to you.
(H/T Indian Country Today)
