The Sudbury Wolves today offered a sneak peek of the new jerseys the team will sport for their upcoming game on Friday, Jan. 27 against the Windsor Spitfires.
The game will rekindle annual tradition, Wolves owner Dario Zulich told Sudbury.com today.
He said it was the energy in the air from the last time an Indigenous night was held that made him want to recreate it.
“I remember early on when I bought the team, we had an Indigenous night on one of the last games of the season, it was so well attended and we weren't even making the playoffs, but I remember there was such energy in the air.”
At the launch event, held Jan. 24 at the Sudbury Arena, Angela Recollet, (E-niigaanzid (CEO) of Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre in Sudbury, told attendees the jerseys were an example of the many different forms reconciliation can take.
“Reconciliation comes through education, through sports, through health, and through identity,” she said. “I know that in the last few years, there have been a lot of truths – in Anishnaabe, Debwewin (truths) – where mainstream society might not know how to reconcile them, or what to do. So we're demonstrating by leadership on how we can work together and regain humanity and break down stereotypes and racism amongst all nations.
Recollet said Shkagamik-Kwe are honoured to continue working with the Sudbury Wolves organization, and “I'm extremely excited for Friday's game.”
The jersey redesign was the work of Raven Debassige, overseen by Shkagamik-Kwe creative director Melanie Laquerre.
For Debassige, who has had her work showcased around Sudbury, including with Myths and Mirrors Community Arts, told Sudbury.com it was both her love of her culture, and her brother that inspired the new logo.
She said she wanted to create an image that both “encapsulates the Sudbury Wolves” as well as “Indigenous pride and the Indigenous voice.”
She also wanted to honour her brother, named Myeengun, which means ‘wolf’. She thought of her brother, his humility, bravery and honesty, and put that into the image.
But though she hopes you will see the flower, and the moon surrounding the wolf, Debassige also hopes you will interpret the design in your own way.
“I like to keep my creations open-ended, to be interpreted in different ways, depending on the person,” she said.
Prior to the game, Laquerre and Debassige will accompany two local Indigenous youth to drop the puck.
There will be a limited number of t-shirts with the logo for sale at the game, and the jerseys themselves will be available to purchase through an in-house silent auction during the game, and online. The online auction will end Monday, Jan. 30 at 8 p.m.
and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to support “Indigenous youth in sports and mental wellness,” reads a release from the Wolves.
For more information, visit www.sudburywolves.com
