# @indigenous.tv on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DaNmVUzFNg7
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/67247728-indigenoustv-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/6c5a44de48.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-06-30T13:56:02.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** INDIGENOUSTV (@indigenous.tv) — https://gondola.cc/indigenous.tv

## Caption

Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in citizen Gavin McKenna has been selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2026 NHL Draft.

The 18-year-old forward from Whitehorse, Yukon joins Dale McCourt, a member of Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg First Nation, as one of two First Nations players ever selected No. 1 overall in the NHL Draft.

McCourt was drafted first overall by the Detroit Red Wings in 1977.

Nearly 50 years later, McCourt told the Toronto Sun he was proud to see McKenna openly share his Indigenous identity on the draft stage.

“It’s just super that he’s doing that,” McCourt said.

McKenna was joined by family in Buffalo, where he wore a suit jacket lined with family photos and beaded wolf pins made by his sister.

“I’m part of the Wolf Clan, so my sister, she beaded them,” McKenna said in a draft-night interview with ESPN. He also said the orange in the pins represents Orange Shirt Day and Every Child Matters.

His grandfather, Joe Mason, is a residential school survivor, member of Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, and one of the people who helped ground McKenna in family, community and the land.

“For me, it’s important my grandchildren express the shared values of respect for the family, the community and the land,” Mason told NHL.com.

Mason’s life and teachings have shaped McKenna’s perspective. McKenna’s tattoo honors his family cabin, the Yukon mountains, his Wolf Clan identity, and his family’s connection to moose hunting.

On draft night, McKenna walked to the stage to Justin Bieber’s “YUKON” before Bieber announced him as Toronto’s first overall pick.

“It’s all about family and my Yukon heritage,” McKenna told NHL.com. “Without them, without the people who supported me, I wouldn’t be here.”

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Source: nhl, espn, torontosunonline

#Sports | #Yukon

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## Tags

yukon, sports

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