And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject Nia:wen for your words of support! via League LISN ---------- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: LEAGUE Subject: Nia:wen for your words of support! Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 14:28:52 -0400 Subject: Nia:wen for your words of support! Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 11:03:16 PDT From: "" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] She:kon, I wanted to send a note out to all those who sent me words of encouragment and congratulations. I know that it has been a while since they were sent but I have finally had a moment to sit down and write a few words. Winning gold at the Pan Am Games was a great moment for me because it was not just a gold for me and my team but for all those that have supported me along the way. I believe that a athlete cannot achieve their dreams alone. It takes a team of people around them to help them along the way. I was lucky that I had people like my mother and sisters to encourage me when I was down and keep me focused in the right direction. I often tell people that it has been a 17 year journey getting to the Olympics. It has been 17 years that I have been active in sports and I have had to learn to love the work or I would have gone crazy and quit a long time ago. When young people ask me for advice I often tell them that simply learning the disapline that is required in sport is a achievement in itself. You will bring this trait with you into all parts of your life and bring success. I am not afraid of the hard work that makes a dream possible because it makes achieving the dream so much sweeter. When I walked into the stadium in Winnipeg during the opening ceremonies it was the most amazing feeling that I have ever felt. I had dreamed about it for as long as I could remember and standing with my team waving to the crowd brought tears to my eyes. I knew that I was not alone but with all of my own "team" and thier hopes and dreams. When I spoke to the youth of Kahnawake I told them "When the day comes to walk into the opening ceremonies in Sydeny next year, you will all be there with me holding my hand and sharing in my success. I believe that the more native youth that succeed the more successful the Native community becomes. I offer a huge Nia:wen for all you good words and thoughts and I hope that you will be thinking about me about this time next year when i am in the Olympic waters of Sydney fighting to bring home the gold for all of you! Thank you again! Waneek Horn-Miller -- ================================================================ League of Indigenous Sovereign Nations of the Western Hemisphere "Many Nations, One People" L.I.S.N. is an alliance created to unite all Indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere into one great Confederation to politically empower our Nations as one people. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] LISN Web Site: http://www.lisn.net
