Victoria School dispenses with offensive logos in favour of new Indigenous relationship
'Racist' red chief logos to make way for more 'meaningful' murals
When she walked into the gym at Victoria school as a new student in Grade 10, Sydney Rayne felt a jolt when she saw the sports teams' logo on the old brick walls.
A Metis student, Rayne described the images of a chief with his face painted red as racist, shameful and demeaning.
"It was like a stab in the heart and I went home and I told my mom," she said.
While the school dropped both the name and logo of the "Vic Redmen" from all of its sports teams in 2011, the logos remained in the old gym.
But that's all about to change.
Rayne has played a key part in the creation of two new murals that will soon cover the logos she finds so offensive.
"The fact is for a long time Indigenous people were outlawed from practicing our culture and spirituality yet it was OK to appropriate and dress up as them," Rayne said.
For the past three months Rayne has been working with other Indigenous student leaders as well as the school's Aboriginal Studies class on a new vision.
About 600 of the school's students packed the gym and cheered when the new artwork was unveiled for the first time Tuesday, which was National Aboriginal Day.
Alongside artist Adrian Louden, the students involved have created two new murals.
Louden said the work is a celebration of culture embracing a theme of "Many Voices".
The murals are painted in a turtle shell pattern, with each panel telling a different story. Many Indigenous cultures referred to North America as Turtle Island.
At the centre, the Redmen logo is reclaimed, with the headdress altered to include 13 feathers, which reflects the number of poles of a teepee.
The name "Redmen" itself appears in one of the murals as a hand sprays red paint over top.
"One of our goals in this project was to reclaim and transform this space by removing a stereotypical view of cultural identity and replacing it with something more honest, truthful and meaningful," said Louden, who noted the students involved had shown tremendous commitment to the project, logging many hours in their free time.
Louden paid tribute to Indigenous elder Gary Moostoos who provided guidance throughout the project, as well as Maskwacis artist Chris Carlson.
Carlson said it was a proud moment to dispose of the images he described as racist.
"You're allowed to parade us around like that and make us a mascot," said Carlson, who contributed some of the art.
Carlson said he is impressed with Victoria School for bringing the project to life.
Principal Tami Dowler-Coltman said the sports teams are now simply referred to as Victoria School of the Arts or VSA and it's "just fine".
She said replacing the old images in the gym, which was built in the early 1900's, is a part of reconciliation.
"I'm certain that many of our students throughout history have felt great offence, have felt incredibly overwhelmed by the imagery that is negative or stereotypical or both."
Dowler-Coltman credits the school's Aboriginal youth mentor Harley Morris, who, she said, had shown strong leadership to help make it all happen.
While the murals have been unveiled, some touch-up work is still needed before they can be raised to once and for all cover the logos Rayne wanted gone the minute she saw them.
Another key message written in the new work in both Cree and English is a call for people to grow together, a call Rayne said will create a different experience for all students.
"I hope that students who come here next year and years after that can see that and recognize that we all really do grow together," Rayne said.
