\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThrough WASAC Night, 30 Indigenous youth from remote and northern communities attended Winnipeg’s game against Tampa Bay on Jan. 17. The next day they participated in a skating session with Indigenous hockey role models at Camp Manitou’s outdoor rink.<\/p>\n
At Follow Your Dreams Day, 200 Indigenous youth from communities across Manitoba attended the Moose game against Laval on Jan. 18.<\/p>\n
Jets players wore the jerseys during their pre-game skate and the Moose played their entire game in their new wardrobe.<\/p>\n
Kevin Chief, co-founder of WASAC, described this initiative as a celebration of cultures.<\/p>\n
“We thought (about) having something where we could celebrate our collective history and heritage — so you can’t talk about the history of Canada without talking about the unique relationship with Indigenous peoples… So if you’re a Canadian and you’re a Manitoban, whether you’re Indigenous or non-Indigenous, we have a collective history and heritage.<\/p>\n
“When something’s important you can’t just say it, you got to show it, so we thought a really great way to celebrate Indigenous culture, sport, and pride in the loudest barn in a national hockey league, and celebrate this really amazing partnership that we’ve had with True North for the last almost 20 years,” he said.<\/p>\n
Leticia Spence, a 29-year-old graphic designer, designed the artwork used for the jerseys.<\/p>\n “It’s important for us as First Nations people to see ourselves in the media and in public spaces and be celebrated at events like WASAC and Follow Your Dreams Night.<\/p>\n “I think it’s great to see our history and our evolution being represented through these jerseys,” Spence said. “It’s also a way to kind of shed the idea that First Nations visual art and culture has remained stagnant and unchanging.”<\/p>\n The special edition jerseys will be autographed and put up for auction between Thurs., Jan. 23 and Sun., Feb. 2 at https:\/\/auctions.nhl.com\/<\/p>\n All proceeds will benefit WASAC’s programming, including continuing Jets WASAC Night and Manitoba Moose Follow Your Dreams next year, Chief said.<\/p>\n Indigenized jerseys wasn’t the only milestone, though.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t