Amazing Race Canada is breaking new ground this summer with three First Nations teams in its 11th season. The move is seen as a step toward normalizing indigenous faces in prime-time television in Canada.However, it is an overrepresentation of indigenous people as they make up less than 5% of the population but 28% of the Amazing Race’s 11 teams.Best friends Rebecca Merasty and Rebecca Wyatt, dubbed “the Rebeccas,” headline the roster. Merasty, a Cree model from Flying Dust First Nation in Saskatchewan, and Wyatt, a Pehdzeh Ki social worker from the Northwest Territories, met at an indigenous fashion show nine years ago. .They are the first all-indigenous women team to attempt the Amazing Race.Edmonton couple Blair and Skylene Gladue follow close behind. Blair, a Calling Lake Oilers superfan, pairs his big game personality with Skylene’s creative edge. She is a Cree-Dane-zaa designer who mentors youth through antibullying workshops..Prince George, BC, siblings Grace Dove and Joe Syme round out the three indigenous teams, vowing to use family intuition and indigenous pride.The franchise has welcomed indigenous competitors before, Ashley Callingbull and her father Joel Ground in Season 4, and Two-Spirit winners Anthony Johnson and James Makokis in Season 7. But never three First Nations teams at once.Producers say the expanded cast reflects a wider push to tell stories that resonate across the country while racers battle for cash, vehicles, and the next winner of the Amazing Race Canada.
