The Vancouver Canucks are being accused of cultural appropriation for using an Indigenous symbol of a killer whale in their logo..The move came after team goalie Braden Holtby apologized for having Indigenous artwork on his mask.. EXCLUSIVE: New poll shows UCP collapse as NDP & Wildrose surge .“I wanted to make sure I apologize to anyone I offended. It was definitely not my intent and I definitely learned a valuable lesson through this all and will make sure I’m better moving forward,” Holtby said in an interview with CTV News..Artist David Gunnarsson – one of the top goalie masks artists in the world – put pictures of the mask on Instagram – setting off a flury of negative reaction that them theme was cultural appropriation..The specially-painted mask was made so the goalie would appear to be wearing a face of a “thunderbird.” The text in the post describes the mask as “Thunderbird, The Northwest Coast Indigenous Myth,” CTV reported.. Screen-Shot-2020-12-16-at-10.14.11-AMHoltby mask .But the story didn’t end there when Sean Carleton, a historian and expert on Indigenous history with the University of Manitoba, said the Canucks must change their entire logo, which features the head of an orca..“In light of sports teams in Cleveland, Washington, and Edmonton getting rid of racist and appropriated Indigenous team names/logos, it’s time to have a discussion about the Vancouver @Canucks‘s Indigenous appropriated Orca logo,” he said on Twitter..“The real issue here is power and profit – in a bigger sense. Vancouver is located on unceded, stolen Indigenous territory, and the team makes millions from its operations and ‘Indigenous’ branding. This is a continuation of colonization in BC.. Sean-CarletonSean Carleton .“The Canucks are branding their team with appropriated Indigenous imagery while being part of the process of profiting from doing business on stolen Indigenous land – without working with Indigenous peoples in meaningful ways. That’s how settler colonialism works..“People will say, but Sean the imagery is a ‘a sign of respect.’ How respectful is continuing to make piles of money from a business you operate on stolen land all the while branding that business with stolen imagery. That’s the logic of colonial capitalism for you..“But, for the Canucks, I think retiring the Orca logo needs to be put on the table, too. How can you continue to develop meaningful relations with Coast Salish nations when you continue to profit from branding that is appropriating their art style.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
