Fort Simpson (Mar 05/04) - In sports, being aboriginal is sometimes associated with quitting.

That was a harsh stereotype that Waneek Horn-Miller said she confronted as she strived to fulfil her dream of reaching the Olympics as a member of the national women's water polo team.

Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller addresses students at the Mackenzie Regional Youth Conference, where she was the keynote speaker. A water polo gold medallist from the 1999 Pan-American Games, Horn-Miller, 27, is also a three-time Carleton University athlete of the year. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

Speaking to a gymnasium full of students and teachers at Thomas Simpson school last week, she also proudly referred to her Mohawk family members and their achievements despite various hardships. She was one of four sisters raised primarily by her single mother -- a native rights activist -- on the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal.

She remembers being a "hyper" child, so her mom enroled her in many sports even though they didn't have enough money for proper equipment.

As a youth, she found the stories of aboriginal Olympians Shirley and Sharon Firth, skiers from the NWT, and Billy Mills, a long-distance runner, uplifting.

"It was the first time I ever thought we (First Nations people) could be the best in the world," she said.

In addition to her training, she often looked after her younger sister.

Therefore, she refrained from coming home drunk or smoking because it would give her sister the impression that it was OK.

"If (abstaining) wasn't for me, it was for her, to show her that I loved her," she said.

It took her 17 years of hard work to reach the Olympics. While trying out for the team, she would get up at 5:45 a.m., swim for two hours and lift weights with her prospective teammates for another hour. After her teammates went home, she took the extra step of running for 60 minutes to ensure she was in superior shape.

"I have grit," she said.

It paid off. She was named co-captain of Canada's Olympic water polo team for the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia.

Her achievement made her mother cry tears of joy and allowed her to meet athletes like Muhammed Ali and Venus and Serena Williams in the athletes' village.

"I thought, my God, I'm on the same level with these people," she said.

What message did students receive from Horn-Miller's address? "Not to let people stop you from achieving your goals," said April Fradsham.

Diedra Villeneuve said, "It doesn't matter what race you are, just keep going."