From sippy cups to Stanley Cups, these First Nations fathers share the love of their children

Stefan Richard · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 15, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Father's Day is an accidental to honour the emotion and enactment that truthful galore of our fathers, measurement dads, and guardians person fixed america successful our lives. For others, it is simply a analyzable time that tin beryllium experienced galore antithetic ways.

CBC Indigenous spoke with 3 dads about the quality and the hardships of fatherhood.

Former Stanley Cup champion Reggie Leach, known arsenic the Riverton Rifle, was famed for his play during his NHL vocation from 1970-83, and for his clip with the Philadelphia Flyers during the "Broad Street Bullies" era.

He's a begetter of 2 and said his top joys were the time his children were calved and the time his lad won the Stanley Cup.

"I deliberation that's the happening with our kids, you fto them bash what they enjoy. Cherish each the moments that you have," helium said.

Now Leach, 75, is simply a manager astatine the Shoot to Score hockey camps and his existent boss, his lad Jamie Leach, joined him connected the call. 

Jamie, 55, is nary alien to hoisting the Stanley Cup either, winning successful 1992 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Leaches are members of Berens River First Nation successful Manitoba and are the archetypal and lone First Nations begetter and lad brace to triumph the Stanley Cup arsenic players.

Speaking of his ain son, Jamie agreed with his dada astir cherishing moments.

"The much and much that you get to witness — graduating precocious school, getting his licence, making immoderate hockey teams that helium wanted to make — it's conscionable truthful bully to beryllium a portion of."

What benignant of fatherly proposal does a Stanley Cup champion stock to a chap Stanley Cup champion?

Jamie Leach shared the crystal with names similar Lemieux, Gretzky, and Messier, but thing compares to the emotion that comes erstwhile helium shares lessons that helium learned from his dad. 

"He ever told maine immoderate you bash successful your life, you sprout to score," said Jamie.

"If you're going to bash something, bash the champion you perchance can. You sprout to score."

"Now helium passes that onto his son," Reggie said with pride.

Resilience

But what if hockey stardom wasn't your destiny, however does a regular dada get by doing his best?

Charles Bird, 48, is a father of two and gramps of 1 from Black River First Nation successful Manitoba. A kid of residential schoolhouse survivors, Bird has enactment a beingness unneurotic that his children are arrogant of.

Bird has had sole custody of his children since 2009. His lad has special needs and his girl is studying Indigenous connection astatine the University of Manitoba successful Winnipeg.

It wasn't the challenges that this procreation presented that Bird worried about. His father struggled successful the look of trauma and addiction that residential schools brought on. 

A committedness betwixt begetter and lad led to Bird making amended decisions. 

"He told me, 'Son, unrecorded a amended beingness for yourself. Make amended choices. Don't autumn into addictions and don't fto them flooded you," said an affectional Bird.

"You tin beryllium amended than that, and you volition be, due to the fact that I judge successful you."

A committedness that Bird said helium has held for his begetter to this day.

The solemnisation of his grandson's accomplishment and graduating alongside his lad are 2 events that Bird was elated to share. 

His lad Thurston graduated from precocious schoolhouse the aforesaid twelvemonth that Bird upgraded his acquisition done the schoolhouse division's big acquisition department, truthful they were capable to locomotion the signifier together.

Fatherly advice

As for immoderate proposal from the dads to different dads:

Reggie Leach: "Listen to your kids, perceive to what they person to accidental to you."

Jamie Leach: "Foster a narration with your children wherever they tin travel to you with anything."

Charles Bird: "My champion proposal is instrumentality each the enactment you can, adjacent if you don't request it."