The Saskatchewan Roughriders have unveiled the team’s new Indigenous logo that will be displayed during their next game this Saturday against the Ottawa Redblacks.
The logo was designed by Chris Chipak from Red Pheasant Cree Nation and will be showcased throughout the stadium and on the players’ helmets.
According to Chipak, the logo conveys deep cultural meaning through all of its elements, which include a buffalo, feathers and a ribbon-like skyline.
“My goal has always been to have my work leave a story, even when art can’t be seen, the stories carry on. My focus on this piece was to promote the importance of the land and the beauty of the Prairies,” Chipak said.
“I hope as this logo is revealed it provides healing, hope and inclusion to all. I wanted this to be a timeless logo that heals us from the past, make us feel in the present, and gives us hope for a better future.”
The artist was inspired by the Treaty 4 flag to incorporate the Buffalo, which embodies the spirit of the Saskatchewan Prairies and represents the respect for the willingness to offer every part of itself to sustain the lives of others, according to Chipak.
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The sun emphasizes the treaty promise and signifies the interconnectedness of all things to represent the collective effort that is essential to reconciliation. The ribbon-like skyline pays tribute to the province’s identity as “the land of the living skies” and traditional ribbon skirts.
“As a team, we are profoundly honoured to showcase this beautiful logo created by local Indigenous artist Chris Chipak,” Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds said. “Each element of the logo is steeped with deep meaning, and we hope Rider Nation will not only wear it with the same pride as our football team but take a moment to reflect on truth and reconciliation and our connection to each other.”
Merchandise with the Indigenous logo will be arriving in the Rider Store later this week and a pre-order form is available by visiting theriderstore.ca.
In addition to this new logo, for the third season in a row, players will wear orange warmup jerseys with this year’s jersey featuring ‘Saskatchewan Roughriders’ spelled out in Cree syllabics.
All jerseys will be raffled off by the Saskatchewan Roughriders Foundation, with funds raised going to Indigenous programming, including the Northern Saskatchewan Football League, Grow the Game camps in Indigenous communities and a soon-to-be-launched Inner City Football league.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday.
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