A member of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation and an educator in Huron-Perth schools, Christin Dennis believes a hockey jersey worn by the Stratford Warriors featuring an Indigenous headdress belongs in a display case with historical context — it should not be on the backs of the local junior B club.
Dennis, a Sixties Scoop survivor, said it is cultural appropriation.
“I know the Stratford Warriors have used the image. And I am sure they are thinking it is a strong image. But at the same time they are not understanding the appropriation of it.”
“So we come up with something like this with a Chief head on a Warriors shirt for a hockey game. You have to look at it, it’s not a warrior, it’s a Chief. That is one of our highest positions you can attain.”
In June 2017, the Greater Ontario Hockey League club — according to its website — retired the “Indian head” logo and replaced it with a new official Stratford Warrior design, selected after the club held a logo contest won by local designer Mike Lee.
However, Indigenous imagery returned for the club’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Craig Spada, commissioner of the GOHL, told MyStratfordNow that the Warriors will not use Indigenous-themed jerseys in games. He acknowledged negative feedback, said the matter had been “addressed,” and added the club has decided not to wear those jerseys.
“It was all done to celebrate the 50th anniversary,” he said, adding there was no ill intent by the club.
However, the image still appears in marketing materials on the club’s website as of Friday.
“I don’t know the answer on the website,” Spada said.
A screenshot of the Stratford Warriors’ website shows current and historical branding.
According to the Warriors’ site, before 1952 the Stratford Midgets (later the Kroehlers and Kist Canadians) won a Sutherland Cup and competed at the junior A level for the J. Ross Robertson Cup. The club became the Warriors when it joined the reformed Western B league in 1969. In 1975 the team changed its name to the Cullitons, following a sponsorship agreement with the Culliton family.
For the 2016–17 season the club used an interim “W” logo, with the former Indigenous head design placed as shoulder crests, before switching fully to the new design.
Dennis, a member of Kaswentha–Two Row Now, a local Indigenous collaborative, said Indigenous imagery in sports is sometimes seen as “honouring.”
“When you really look at it, it’s not honouring. Using a Chief’s head as a Warriors head is not a good idea.”
He noted a warrior stands up for the rights of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike. Dennis believes the club’s historical use of Indigenous imagery should not be erased, but remembered and honoured as part of hockey culture.
“But to understand, yeah this is appropriation. We need to change our thoughts and our attitude toward it.”
Dennis has suggested framing the jersey with historical information, including when it was used and how it was discontinued.
“It’s a process of their history … it’s about saying let’s change our thoughts toward it and see if we can use this as a learning tool to help Stratford and help the Warriors: this is where we were, this is not who we are, it wasn’t who we were then, but we understand we thought we were doing something good.”
Lee, the designer of the new logo, said on the club’s website that he sought layers of meaning for the city.
According to the club’s history page, Lee said: “The focal point … an imagined knight of the Elizabethan era … In the lower part … a powerful swan … wings stretched wide …”
“This menacing knight would be the victor in any Shakespearean tragedy.”
“In the lower part of the knight’s armoured crest, a powerful swan. Sentinel of the city of Stratford. Wings stretched wide in victory and a look of fearlessness.”
MyStratfordNow left a voicemail for Warriors president Nick Aroutzidis but did not receive a response by publication.
