Speakers and guests at the well-attended 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays announcement on Friday (Nov. 21) in West Vancouver included senior representatives from the Four Host First Nations (FHFN), along with regional and national Aboriginal leaders who were in attendance to show their support for the Olympic Torch Relay program.

The route will start in Victoria and travel from coast to coast to coast, passing through more than 1,000 communities, including 115 Aboriginal communities, before returning to Vancouver.

“Aboriginal culture is an important part of Canada's history. It’s also an important part of our present, and our future,” said Tewanee Joseph, executive director and chief executive officer for the Four Host First Nations Society (FHFN). “In the spirit of Aboriginal participation for the 2010 Winter Games, VANOC and the FHFN engaged with Aboriginal leaders and communities early in the planning of the relay.”

The Four Host First Nations — Squamish, Lil’wat, Musqueam and Tsliel-Waututh — have come together in an unprecedented partnership to maximize the opportunities and the benefits of the Games. Since signing a protocol with VANOC, the role of the FHFN has expanded to ensure they engage with and showcase the unique diversity of all the Aboriginal peoples in Canada: First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

Showcasing the heritage and traditions of Canada's Aboriginal peoples is one of the guiding principles of the torch relays.

“The 2010 Torch Relay will be an inspirational event,” said FHFN Chief Leonard Andrew of the Lil'wat Nation. “We are honoured to be part of the torch relay, and to be able to invite so many Aboriginal communities across the country to stand with us as we welcome the world.”