Terry Fox’s Métis heritage honoured with BC Place plaque

A new plaque installed at BC Place is paying homage to Terry Fox’s Métis heritage, celebrating his family’s identity all while educating the public.

The permanent fixture has been installed on the Terry Fox statue that stands outside of Vancouver’s largest stadium.

It was created through a partnership between Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) and the Fox family and designed in partnership with artist Douglas Coupland.

Métis Nation BC and the Fox Family have partnered in the creation of a permanent plaque display celebrating Terry Fox and the Fox Family’s Métis heritage.@dbacfox @melaniejmark @GwenPoint @pbainsy @TheSportMarket

Read more: https://t.co/huwRxOVHpZ pic.twitter.com/RZo4gskjDb

— Métis Nation BC (@MetisNationBC) April 14, 2022

In addition to the plaque, the Terry Fox: Inspiration in Action Lesson Plans have also been created, with the goal of teaching students about Fox’s life and “examining his family’s discovery of their Métis ancestry – while further exploring what it means to be Métis.”

Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Melanie Mark says the plaque serves as “a symbol that shines a bright light on the strength, resilience, contributions and accomplishments of all Indigenous people through the power of sport.”

Mark, the first female First Nations MLA in B.C., hopes the plaque will help motivate others to “walk the walk and to stand proud of who they are.”

“Terry Fox is our hero with a rich cultural legacy. As a proud member of the Métis community, he relentlessly pushed past the boundaries of what was possible, and inspired the world with his courage and hope,” she said.

Fox, who was raised in Port Coquitlam, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 18 in 1977. His leg was amputated above the knee due to a malignant tumour.

OTD in 1980, athlete Terry Fox, after losing his right leg to cancer, began his inspiring #MarathonOfHope in Newfoundland. Terry ran for 143 days and covered 5,373 km to raise money for cancer research, leaving a powerful legacy with his fierce determination pic.twitter.com/ZC9KuZTcR0

— Canada #StandWithUkraine (@Canada) April 12, 2022

He began training for his Marathon of Hope, which is now marked in places around the world each year, in 1979. He began his run a year later, starting from Newfoundland.

Fox would get all the way to Thunder Bay Ontario before he was forced to stop. The cancer had spread and he returned to B.C.

He died at 22 in 1981.

The Terry Fox Foundation has raised hundreds of millions of dollars around the world for cancer research.