Heiltsuk First Nation and Northern British Columbia

First Nations basketball competition: He is African by race — but legally, culturally and ethnically he identifies as a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation, according to The Chronicle Herald. The mix is not common, but Wilson says he "never really had a problem with it" until earlier this week, when he was expelled from a popular First Nations basketball competition in northern British Columbia. The 20-year-old, who was adopted as a baby from Haiti, also carries a status Indian card. His father says the tournament committee claims he lacks sufficient aboriginal bloodlines to participate in the All Native Basketball Tournament. It a decision that has not only upset Wilson, his family and community, but has raised questions about what parameters are used to define identity and membership in a group. "There no shame in having multiple identities," said Don Wilson, Josiah father, a Calgary-based doctor born to an aboriginal father and Caucasian mother, who was raised in Bella Bella, B.C. He said his son is proud of his fusion as Haitian, Heiltsuk, his adoptee status and birth ancestry. "Josiah never thought anything of it — being black and having a First Nations grandfather, a mixed-race father and a white grandmother. Tournament organizers could not be reached for comment. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.