Tertulia – Ornella Nzindukiyimana on P.K Subban and Professional Hockey

Dr. Ornella Nzindukiyimana (she/her) is Associate Professor in the Department of Human Kinetics at St. Francis Xavier University (located in Nova Scotia, on the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People and home to the oldest Black communities in Canada). As a social historian, she studies 20th century Black Canadian sport participation, asking how nationalism, colonialism, Multiculturalism, immigration, and the intersection of race and gender have shaped Black peoples’ practices and experiences. Nzindukiyimana has documented histories of individuals and groups in boxing, track and field, swimming, and baseball; she is currently working on expanding those histories, and on new ones in surfing, basketball, and hockey.

In 2007, when P.K. Subban was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, it was a dream come true for the self-described lifelong Habs fan. There is arguably no hockey town like Montreal and his debut into the league via the Canadiens seemingly turned over a new leaf for hockey and sport in North America. However, Subban’s post-retirement accounts, amongst other Black hockey players’ accounts, challenge the notion that the deeply conservative sport has significantly shifted its stance in the last half-century. This calls for an in-depth analysis of the figure of the Black hockey player and an investigation of the hockey institution’s limitations.

What is a tertulia? A tertulia can be described as a kind of philosophy café where participants talk about big thinkers, artists and ideas. This winter and spring, Tertulias Fredericton has put together a series on activists and social movements that have shaped our lives and allowed us to imagine a better future.