Almost without exception, professional sports are about results.
The win column, the shot totals and the possession time are the typical talking points that move the needle around a club’s performance on any given night.
Jan. 28, however, wasn’t any given night. Nor was it a typical conversation.
The Vancouver Warriors celebrated the club’s second annual First Nations Celebration game on Jan. 28 – it was an evening that featured the team’s first-ever alternate jersey and an opportunity to have discussions that are bigger than sport.
“We were very intentional in terms of calling this a First Nations celebration because we wanted it to be a celebration of the culture of all the different nations here in the Lower Mainland and across B.C.,” says Warriors’ chief business officer Colby Fackler. “The Vancouver Warriors and Canucks Sports & Entertainment have a strong partnership with all the local nations here and having that full conversation around reconciliation is an important piece for us.”
The team’s inaugural alternate jersey is comprised of a black-based design featuring red and white stripes and a First Nations-themed logo designed by local Vancouver-based artist K.C. Hall, who is a member of the Heiltsuk Nation.
Hall also created a live mural installation during the game between sections 101 and 121.
“It looks awesome,” Fackler says. “He had tons of people cruising by while he worked and it ended up being just a really cool activation. To see how he works and what he’s doing was really interesting.”
The game also included a variety of celebratory components, including live music from DJ O Show and an information booth by Native Education College.
Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh drummers performed the Coast Salish anthem and Michelle Bardach of the Squamish Nation performed the Canadian and American anthems.
A pre-game ball drop included Chief Wayne Sparrow (Musqueam), Councillor Wilson Williams (Squamish) and Chief Jen Thomas (Tsleil-Waututh).
The team also wore the National Lacrosse League’s “Every Child Matters” t-shirts during warmup, which represents a league-wide initiative taken by all 15 NLL clubs.
The initiative is meant to bring awareness to the forcible placement of Indigenous children in residential and boarding schools by the Canadian and United States governments from the 19th century to as late as 1996 in Canada.
For the remainder of the season, players will wear specially designed helmet decals supporting “Every Child Matters.”
“For the Warriors specifically, the conversation around reconciliation ties into our club because lacrosse is referred to as ‘the medicine game’ within Indigenous culture,” Fackler says. “Lacrosse is used to bring people together and for those who know the story, hopefully it allows them to move forward. But for those who don’t, it provides an opportunity to educate them on what happened in our history, acknowledge it and hopefully build upon it.”
The “Every Child Matters” initiative is a part of the league’s ever-growing participation and awareness programs tied to Indigenous culture, which is at the core of the league’s values and the history of the sport of lacrosse.
The work includes educational programs for athletes, coaches, staff and fans, land acknowledgment ceremonies, and charitable and social responsibility programs to strengthen and enhance the ties between league stakeholders and the Indigenous community.
“Our continued work with Indigenous athletes and communities is a major priority for the National Lacrosse League, and the ‘Every Child Matters’ education process and activations are key components of that platform,” says NLL Commissioner Brett Frood. “This program presents an opportunity to facilitate meaningful conversations about the atrocities perpetrated by the residential and boarding school systems, continue the journey toward reconciliation, and honor survivors and their families.”
The Vancouver Warriors are honoured to live, work, and play on the traditional ancestral and unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. A recap of the evening’s festivities can be seen in the video below.
