Stingers celebrate Indigenous culture and a win Saturday night

The Edmonton Stingers celebrated Indigenous Celebration Night on Saturday at their game against the Montreal Alliance. (Brandon Lynch/CTV News Edmonton)

The Edmonton Stingers hosted their inaugural Indigenous Celebration Night on Saturday.

The game, against the Montreal Alliance, was the first professional basketball game to be broadcast in English and nêhiyawêwin (Cree).

It was broadcast live on 89.3 the Raven by announcer Wayne Jackson, who said it's time that Indigenous languages are given more space and opportunities to reach more people.

"I think it's really important in that reconciliation," Jackson said. "You look at our people, when they're re-identifying with their language and their culture, they're actually stronger.

"They realize their roots and they know who they are."

To kick off the game, the Canadian national anthem was sung in Cree.

At halftime, spectators were treated to a special performance from the international Indigenous hit musical Bear Grease, led by creators MC RedCloud and Crystle Lightning.

The musical has been touring for more than a year, and Lightning said Saturday was the perfect time to bring a snapshot of the show to the court.

"There's so much pride in the building right now," Lightning said. "What better time to do this?"

The performance featured one musical number from the show, as well as drummers and more than 25 dancers.

In the stands watching were several local Indigenous youth basketball teams who attended the game for free through the Stinger's Basketball for All program.

The event was a joint effort between the team, the Indigenous Edmonton Entertainment Group and Windspeaker Media.

The Stingers beat the Alliance handily by a score of 92-68.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Brandon Lynch