Dan Ninham
Special to ICT
Hundreds of athletes from throughout the world are descending on northern Italy for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. Four years removed from the Covid-stricken edition of the Beijing Winter Olympics, thousands of fans will be in person cheering at the pinnacle of world-class athletic competition.
The Indigenous representation includes three Métis from Team Canada, including one alternate, and two Inuk siblings from Greenland who will be competing individually as biathletes for Team Denmark, wearing racing suits that include Inuit designs such as eagle talons, a raven and the Northern Lights.
Olympics officials for Team USA did not provide ICT with the names of any Indigenous athletes competing this year for the United States, and ICT was not able to identify any who might have been missed. Teams Australia and New Zealand, which usually have large contingents of Indigenous athletes in the Summer Olympics, likewise did not identify any for the 2026 Winter Games.
The Winter Olympics will kick off with opening ceremonies on Friday, Feb. 6, and run through Feb. 22. Here are the Indigenous athletes identified by ICT who are participating in the Olympic Games this year.
TEAM DENMARK (GREENLAND)
Ukaleq Slettemark, Inuk
Biathlon
Ukaleq Slettemark was born and raised in Nuuk, Greenland, and currently lives in Lillehammer, Norway. She is Inuk from Nunarput/Greenland and she’s competing in the biathlon for her second consecutive Winter Olympics.
Representing as an Indigenous Winter Olympian on the world stage encourages athletes to excel and thrive while maintaining their cultural identity. An expanding fan base will be watching from televised programming.
“I am incredibly proud of racing for Greenland at the world stage,” Ukaleq Slettemark told ICT. “I hope I also represent other Inuit and Indigenous people from the rest of the word a little bit, too.”
The biathlon merges cross-country skiing with rifle marksmanship. Athletes ski long distances and stop to shoot either in prone or standing positions at targets.
She comes from a family of biathletes. Inuk mother Uiloq and Norwegian father Øystein raced internationally for Greenland, and her mother founded the Greenland Biathlon. Her dad was the first biathlete from Greenland competing for Denmark to qualify for the Olympics. Her younger brother, Sondre, qualified for the Olympics biathlon this year and will compete individually.
Cultural ways of Indigenous athletes may bring a special connection to the environment.
“I think all indigenous people around the world share a special bond and an understanding of nature and the connection between all living things in a way that has been lost in the modern world,” Slettemark said. “I’m always happy to hear and learn from Indigenous people and I hope I in some way can share that knowledge with the world.”
Training is key, Slettemark said.
“I think, now, I train similar to other biathletes,” Slettemark said. “But I do feel like my upbringing close to nature definitely helped me get a good base shape. We always went hiking in the mountains and hunting in the summer, walking 5, 6, 7 hours a day.”
“When I started skiing more professionally, I didn’t have that many years of experience but I was still fast, and I think it has to with these many hours in nature,” Slettemark said. “Many people ask if my hunting background is the reason for why I shoot so well, and it is quite different but at the same time I think the interest for competition shooting came from that. Also I think the adrenaline mixed with precision focus can be comparable.”
She encourages Indigenous youth to follow their dreams.
“I hope Indigenous youth see that it’s possible to be a world-class athlete if you have the motivation to train a lot and train seriously,” said Slettemark. “There is nothing that beats the feeling of doing a great race that you have worked toward for years, but the motivation has to come from within.”
Resilience as an Indigenous biathlete brings together mental and physical toughness with cultural identity. Oftentimes the core values also come into play dealing with potential adversity before or during competition.
“I’ve gone through many ups and downs in my career,” said Slettemark. “When things are hard, I find that it helps to remind myself of how good it is when things are good, when I’m in the flow state and how it feels to perform well.”
“I love working toward my goals,” Slettemark said. “Having both bigger and smaller goals helps to see the big picture awhile at the same time having something concrete to work on and improve every day.”
She will compete in the individual competition on Feb. 11, the sprint on Feb. 14, and, if in the top 60 in the sprint, she will also race the pursuit on Feb. 15.
TEAM DENMARK (Greenland)
Sondre Slettemark, Inuk
Biathlon
Sondre Slettemark grew up in Nuuk, Greenland, and Norway. He and his big sister, fellow Olympian Ukaleq Slettemark, live together in Lillehammer, Norway, to have the best training opportunities.
Sondre Slettemark placed second at the Norwegian Championships as a 15-year-old. Last year, he won two races in the International Biathlon Union Junior Cup and was second in the Junior European Championships. He also won the Globe as the best Junior Mass Start Athlete in the World.
“Training is going well now, but he struggled a lot with sickness these last seven months,” his dad and coach, Øystein Slettemark, who competed for Denmark in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, told ICT. “So his performance so far has not been the best.”
Sondre will be competing in the men’s biathlon while his sister Ukaleq competes in the women’s competition.
“Ukaleq and Sondre are not competing together in the Olympics,” Øystein Slettemark said. “But in the World Cup they competed together in the single mixed-relay, beating USA and Canada the last time, and took a 16th place of 24 teams.”
Sondre will compete in the individual men’s competition on Feb. 10, the sprint on Feb. 13, and, if in the top 60 in the sprint, will compete in the pursuit on Feb. 15.
TEAM CANADA
Trinity Ellis, Métis
Luge
Trinity Ellis, Métis, grew up in Pemberton, British Columbia, and now lives between Pemberton and Calgary, Alberta. She will be competing in the luge competition in her second Olympics — she also competed in the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.
Luge is a Winter Olympic sport where athletes race feet-first on small sleds down a frozen track while lying on their backs, sometimes exceeding speeds of 90 mph.
Representing indigenous people on the world stage also means representing families and communities.
“Representing the Métis community is an honour,” Trinity Ellis said in an email exchange with ICT. “To me, it means carrying stories, resilience, and generations of people who were told they didn’t belong.”
“Competing at the Olympics lets me show the world that we’re still here, still thriving, and still contributing in powerful ways. Every moment is a chance to honour where I come from and help shape where we’re going,” Ellis said.
Being in the winter climate allows Indigenous athletes to make a connection to their cultural ways.
“My cultural background has given me a lot of balance in my career,” Ellis said. “Taking time to connect with nature, my community and my family offers me such an important calmness, and acts as a reset when my life gets a bit crazy.”
She, too, has a message for young athletes.
“The message I hope to send to Indigenous youth is, always give yourself a chance to try,” Ellis said. “The fear of failure, or the uncertainty if you will be successful in something, can make you feel like you should quit before you even give yourself a shot. Always take a chance on yourself, it might turn out to be something you’re really good at, or something you really enjoy.”
“I also want young Métis kids watching to see that there’s space for them at the highest levels, that their culture and identity are strengths, not barriers,” Ellis said.
Resilience lessons happen daily in practice and competition, she said.
“Resiliency is one of the most important skills you can have as an athlete,” Ellis said. “When competing at major competitions our team motto is, be flexible, be patient and expect the unexpected … and have fun.”
“There is almost always a curveball that will come your way, and being able to go with the flow without letting it impact your energy is crucial,” Ellis said. “Resiliency also means getting up and trying again after you fail, and that is truly how you get better.”
She added, “In luge, that could mean crashing on a run, struggling to figure out a certain corner or start technique, and the ability to push through that, go back up to the top and try again and again, is how you become excellent.”
TEAM CANADA
Jocelyne Larocque, Métis
Hockey
Three-time Olympic medallist Jocelyne Larocque will be pursuing gold for Team Canada at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. She competed in the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Olympics, earning two gold medals and one silver.
She is also the first Indigenous woman to play for Team Canada, and has competed in more than 10 world championships.
Larocque was not available for comment, but details of her success can be found on her Team Canada bio.
Larocque has four gold and four silver medals from the Four Nations Cup dating back to her first appearance with the senior team in 2008. She began competing internationally with the under-22 national team in 2007, winning three gold medals at the Nations Cup over several years with the development squad.
Larocque helped the University of Minnesota Duluth win NCAA Division 1 national championships in 2008 and 2010. She was a two-time NCAA First Team All-American and was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Larocque has been a member of Canada’s National Women’s Team since 2008. She made her debut with the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Women’s World Championship in 2011 and has since won 12 medals, including four gold, seven silver and one bronze.
She has played professionally in various leagues in the last 13 years.
Larocque is of Métis heritage, and she has garnered most of the Canadian-based Indigenous athlete honors. In 2021, she was named Manitoba’s Indigenous Female Athlete of the Decade and in 2018 the Tom Longboat Award winner, given to Indigenous athletes for their outstanding contributions to sport in Canada
TEAM CANADA
Eden Wilson, Métis
Bobsleigh/alternate
Eden Wilson is a Canadian bobsleigh athlete from mixed Black, European and Indigenous ancestry, and is an alternate for Team Canada in the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
Bobsleigh involves teams racing specialized sleds down an icy, banked track at speeds up to 90 mph. Winners were determined by the fastest total time over four heats, typically held over two days.
“Every time I get the privilege of standing at the start line it’s about something bigger than just competing,” Wilson told ICT. “I get the opportunity to attempt to inspire the next generation of Indigenous kids and let them know that they can do anything they set their mind to.”
She brings her Indigenous identity with her to the competition.
“It’s something I walk through life with everyday, so incorporating it into sport has been no different,” said Wilson.
She hopes to send messages to Indigenous youth and communities throughout the world as viewers watch the indigenous athletes compete.
“I hope to let every kid that watches me know that no matter your circumstances, there is a big wide world out there, and if you feel as though you don’t have a spot at the table in every room you walk into, roll up your sleeves up and build your own table, because you are important and deserve to be seen and heard.”
She knows she is representing all Indigenous people on the world stage.
“It feels like a big responsibility, (because) when I fail I feel as though I’m not just letting myself down, I’m letting an entire community down,” Wilson said. “And that weighs really heavy on me all the time.”
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” Wilson said. “Definitely rings true in sport.”
According to her National Team bio in the Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, Wilson spent two decades in competitive show jumping and transitioned into bobsleigh five years ago. She won an overall award on the 2021 North American Cup circuit.
Wilson was recently notified she will be inducted into the athlete category of the 2026 North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame. Although she is still climbing in her elite standing as a bobsleigh brakeman, her bio will be updated annually as she continues to climb in international standing.