While the 2023 Canadian Elite Basketball League season might not have gone the way of the Saskatchewan Rattlers missing playoffs, they played some of their best basketball wearing brand-new threads.
The Starblanket Jersey was introduced by the team in June as a way to honour the Saskatchewan First Nations community as part of the Rattlers’ Kisiskâciwan Day.
Now, the Rattlers are selling the jerseys to fans with a portion of the proceeds going towards supporting residential school survivors in Saskatchewan.
According to Rattlers vice-president Brad Kraft, it’s an important step for the organization as they look to address sport’s role in reconciliation as part of the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
“I think it just goes back to our own values and mission around TRC and the calls to action,” said Kraft.
“Just helping people in the community by giving back and not making it only something that happens during the season. We like to walk the walk year-round and really be involved in our steps towards truth and reconciliation, and this is just one of those steps.”
Of the 30 jerseys originally put on sale, 14 remain available for purchase while a team-signed jersey is being raffled off on Oct. 30.
Proceeds raised from the sale of the jerseys will be earmarked for the Saskatoon Survivors Circle, a local resource aimed at healing initiatives for those affected by the residential school system.
On June 25 as part of Kisiskâciwan Day, the Rattlers hosted members of the Saskatoon Survivors Circle and Kraft said those connections still continue on an ongoing basis.
“We’ve made connections with a lot of the elders and the circle members that go daily,” said Kraft. “We talk to them and we use them for guiding our decisions. It just really helps I think to make smart business decisions in a good way to continue moving the organization forward.”
The jerseys were designed by Tristen Amyotte and created in consultation with Saskatoon Tribal Chief Mark Arcand and Christine Marie from Awasis Boutique.
In their four games wearing the jerseys this summer, the Rattlers earned a trio of victories and suffered a one-point loss in the other contest.
The Starblanket Jerseys were the first major jersey departure for the Rattlers since the team’s founding, setting the stage for other community initiatives with the Saskatchewan Indigenous community in the coming years.
“As Saskatchewan residents and as Saskatchewan sports teams, we have a really due process in using our voice to amplify the message and really help communicate the needs of these people,” said Kraft.
“Using those four specific calls to action for sport and removing barriers to sport is one of the things that we can continue to do daily, weekly, annually. So that’s what really this will springboard into.”
Raffle tickets for the team jersey are available for $10 while jerseys can be purchased either online through the Rattlers or at the Rattlers team store on 2nd Avenue South in Saskatoon.
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