A pair of special jerseys incorporating design elements from Cree and Ojibway culture and worn by the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose at their respective games last week are continuing to generate a lot of buzz among hockey fans.
As of Friday, some of the jerseys, like the one Jets centre Mark Scheifele wore in the pregame warmup on Jan. 17, are attracting more than $700 in bids.
Spence told 680 CJOB she’s overwhelmed by the continued response to her work, which has carried on well after the jerseys’ initial on-ice appearances.
“It’s incredible to see my work on that sort of scale,” she said.
“I’m not used to it, actually. It’s pretty cool and amazing, and I’m overall really happy.”
The designs, Spence said, incorporated various elements and colours connected to local Indigenous cultures — including medicine wheels and floral motifs — and she’s happy the funds raised in the auction are staying within the local Indigenous community.
“(WASAC) helps to create programming for youth within the area. They do summer youth camps and stuff like that, but they also go to different reservations throughout Manitoba,” she said.
“They also help create programming for older youth… they take them to different companies to do tours. I’ve actually been to a couple myself, and it’s pretty awesome.
“I’m just really happy there’s more opportunities for the youth.”
The jersey auctions close Feb. 2.