Twin Indigenous hockey players look to inspire others with NCAA Division 1 scholarship opportunity

Twins Jordyn and Kyla Bear are looking to pave the way for the next generation of Indigenous hockey players.

The pair grew up on the Ochapowace First Nation, around 100 kilometres south of Yorkton. Their careers included stops in Saskatchewan such as Churchbridge and Whitewood, along with their home minor hockey association in Ochapowace.

They were a part of the Melville Prairie Fire midget AAA organization until it was disbanded at the end of the 2019 season.

That left the two girls, who had dreams of playing hockey at a higher level, without a place to play.

After some discussions, the twins made a move to B.C. to play for the Okanagan Hockey Academy, where they played for a year.

But it wasn’t until another B.C. move to Kelowna, and the RINK Academy, that their dreams would soon be fulfilled.

This past week, the sisters accepted scholarships to play Division 1 hockey with the NCAA’s Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers.

“It’s a big opportunity. Not all First Nations women are guaranteed an NCAA spot and we’re just paving the way for younger generations to come up. It’s really nice; they mean a lot to us,” said Jordyn, the forward of the Bear combination.

“It was like a dream. I didn’t know that it would ever happen playing back home. But making the decision to move out to Kelowna and play for the RINK Academy kind of gave it that opportunity to set itself off,” added Kyla, a defenceman.

The two praised their coaching staff at RINK for getting them in a position to get a scholarship at the Division 1 level.

Article continues below photo.

Both Kyla and Jordyn admitted they questioned whether to stick together after their minor hockey careers were over, but in the end, they felt like there was only one option.

“We just realized that we’ve literally been together since ever. So we just thought we’d just continue on,” Kyla said before Jordyn chimed in on the possible move away from her sister.

“I couldn’t imagine going elsewhere without my sister. We talked about it, but it was more like, ‘That’s not what we want,’ and we shot for what we could get,” she said.

The Bear sisters are a part of a hockey family that also includes brothers Josh and Kirk.

Kirk spent time in the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels and Prince George Cougars before an eventual Western Canada Cup win with the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs.

Josh had a brief stint with the Mustangs as well, along with midget AAA experience with the Yorkton Maulers program. He is currently a part of the PJHL’s Regina Capitals junior B program.

The twins said the reaction from their family and friends was incredible, with those around them knowing what the pair’s goals were.

“We have a lot of support coming back home … As soon as we announced to them, (they) were unbelievably happy and proud of us,” said Jordyn. “This is what we literally spend our summers and winters preparing for.”

Jordyn said she hopes to study criminal justice in the law field, while Kyla has aspirations of becoming a medical student.

But they are shooting for the top tier of women’s hockey after their collegiate careers are through.

“Hopefully, make the Olympic team … One of our mentors, Brigette Lacquette, is playing right now,” Kyla said. “That would be the sky-high limit.”

The pair first met Lacquette at a camp she staged on the Ochapowace First Nation. Since then, they have been in communication, saying she’s “only a text away.”

“As we look up to her, we’re hoping that younger girls will start looking up to us,” Kyla explained.

For the two, this opportunity is bigger than hockey. It’s a chance to show those living on reserve what they can accomplish.

“We’re hoping to give the younger generation that’s behind us an opportunity to actually chase their dreams, and not be scared of being Indigenous, and actually making that decision that it’s OK to move away from home,” Jordyn explained.

“You don’t hear of many First Nation female athletes playing at the NCAA Division 1 (level), which is very sad. Not all First Nations have the opportunity to get that, and also don’t have the support for them.”

The Bear sisters had a long list of people to thank for getting them here, but it all started with their father, Tim, and mother, Cindy. The hours that they put in, along with both of the Bear brothers, were key to the sisters’ success.

They said they wouldn’t be where they are today without the advice and push to train from their older brothers.

Once the sisters arrive in the U.S. and get their careers going, they said they know the sacrifice of moving away at an early age to pursue their dreams was the right one, with Jordyn ending with a message to the Indigenous community.

“Even though you’re Indigenous, you do have that opportunity to reach for the sky, because we’ve been told by many people: The sky is the limit in the end,” she said.