The Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Elks have teamed up with a local Métis artist of Cree background to create a new logo for the team’s Indigenous Celebration night.
The team unveiled the logo on Wednesday, August 2, and it will appear on their helmets and on the field at Commonwealth Stadium when they take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday, August 10. It was created by Indigenous artist Conrad Plews, owner of Black Market Tattoo, which has three locations in Edmonton.
“Designing this logo for the Elks was an honour and I can’t wait to see it showcased as part of the team’s Indigenous Celebration night on August 10,” Plews said on the Elks’ website.
Plews drew inspiration from a logo that Indigenous student Izaiah Masuskapoe submitted to the Elks in 2021. Masuskapoe’s design — which was inspired by a logo created for the BC Lions by Kwakwaka’wakw/Tlingit artist Corrine Hunt — was used on an orange shirt the team sold to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and raise money for Spirit North, an organization that “empowers Indigenous youth to be unstoppable in sport, school and life.”
“The design is largely based on the existing Elks logo, as well as the design created by Izaiah. I wanted to integrate both designs while infusing a feeling of dynamic energy and strength.”
— Conrad Plews
Plews’s logo will also appear on merchandise sold in the Elks’ team store at the August 10 game, with proceeds benefitting the Indigenous Sport Council Alberta.
The Elks’ Indigenous Celebration night festivities also include the national anthem sung in Cree and a halftime performance by traditional dance troupe Dancing Cree.
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