In 1971, the Native Summer Games held in Enoch, Alberta, Canada drew 3,000 participants competing in 13 sports and many cultural events.
In 1975, a meeting of the National Indian Athletic Association was held in Reno, Nevada, where it was decided to organize games for indigenous peoples.
[citation needed] The goal of the games was to improve the quality of life for indigenous peoples by supporting self-determined sports and cultural activities.
Former Chairperson Charles Wood stated "The vision of the NAIG, from the very beginning, along with my brothers, Willie Littlechild of Ermineskin First Nation at Hobbema, and Big John Fletcher of Peigan in Southern Alberta, was one of our interest and concern about what was happening among the young people in all of our communities.
And, what it was eventually, was that we would put together a plan for a Games through which the young Aboriginal people could come together to excel in their athletic field of endeavour and to come together to do other things: to make new friendships, to renew old ones, and so on..." The first North American Indigenous Games (or "NAIG") were held in 1990 in Edmonton, Alberta, followed by Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, in 1993, Blaine, Minnesota, in 1995, Victoria, British Columbia, in 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 2002, Denver, Colorado, in 2006 and Cowichan, British Columbia, in 2008.
Approximately 5,000 athletes from the United States and Canada took part in the 2014 games, in Regina, Saskatchewan, (July 20–27, 2014) with more than 756 tribes represented.