NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY | 9
JUNE 2026
season after blocking a shot with his left hand that “destroyed” a knuckle in training camp. Prior to that he played parts of three seasons with his hometown Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, including their league championship season in 2022. The 5-foot-9, 167-pound winger was sup- posed to play for Team Manitoba at the 2021 North American Indigenous Games but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he did get a taste of interna-
so they can benefit and help shape AI, some- thing that seems super scary right now but can also be beneficial,” he says. As part of the program’s first cohort of learn- ers, Hrechka teamed-up with fellow participant Mary Gallerneault to create SAIGE. SAIGE is an AI-powered matching tool that helps Indigenous students to connect with funding opportunities to support their post-sec- ondary studies. Users sign in, answer a series of questions and SAIGE then scours its online database and provides a list of scholarship opportunities that are the best match for each individual user. The partners are currently putting the finish- ing touches on the system and hope to release it to the public in the not too distant future. “Mary and I were given the topic of education and to come up with a solution. We’re both going through post-secondary and started talking about what was a problem for us. Fund- ing would always come up and having to look everywhere for it,” he explains, adding the system could also eventually be used to promote things like budgeting and financial literacy. “The idea with SAIGE is to centralize funding in one place so you’re not running all over the place and you can find the funding you need more easily.” Hrechka is hoping to resume his hockey career this fall. He missed all of the UVic Vikes 2025-26
managed to find time to work as a personal care worker for an individual living with an intellectual disability. He also recently served a stint as a volunteer firefighter with the Dauphin Fire Department, something he enjoyed every minute of. “I loved it, a lot. If I didn’t like what I’m doing right now with computer science at university, being a firefighter would be my next option,” he says. “I got to go into a burning building for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was really fun. It sounds crazy but the people I work with at the fire hall had my best interests at heart and they are super safe.” Hrechka is currently in his third year of studies at the University of Victoria, where he is studying mathematics and computer science. He is also a member of the school’s men’s hockey team. He was recently tapped to participate in the Indigenous Pathfinders in AI program, Canada’s first dedicated artificial intelligence initiative for First Nations, Inuit and Métis talent. The sev- en-week program is operated by Mila, a Quebec artificial intelligence institute, in conjunction with Indspire and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. The aim of the program is to train Indigenous professionals to build ethical, community-driven AI. “AI is still so new and it’s important to get Indigenous voices in those kinds of spaces early
tional hockey last summer when he was chosen to be part of a Cana-
dian squad that took part in a Canada-U.S. exhibition series in Australia that also features players from the semi-pro Australian Ice Hockey League. It was an experience he isn’t likely to forget anytime soon. “I was surprised by the skill level there. It’s definitely on the way up. There was one guy I met who goes to Finland for
the winter just to play hockey.” n
Garrett Hrechka in Vikes’ team uniform
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Steady fuel in an unsteady market. Today we honour National Indigenous Peoples Day, the strength, leadership, and resilience of Indigenous communities.
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