Waneek Horn-Miller

Mohawk (Kahnawake) · athletes

Waneek Horn-Miller (born November 30, 1975) is a Mohawk from the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory and a groundbreaking Indigenous athlete. She co-captained the Canadian women's water polo team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, becoming one of the first Mohawk women to compete in the Olympic Games. Her journey to the Olympics was shaped by a pivotal moment during the 1990 Oka Crisis, when she was stabbed by a Canadian soldier's bayonet while carrying her four-year-old sister to safety — an event that fueled her determination to use sport as a vehicle for Indigenous empowerment. Horn-Miller has become a powerful advocate for Indigenous health, fitness, and youth engagement through sport. She has served on the board of the Aboriginal Sport Circle and worked with Right to Play.