Article content continued

Having to choose between pride and letting her kids play was an easy choice, the mother explained. Both children will sit out this season.

The jersey is worn by members of Calgary’s Northwest Warriors hockey association, which was created when the Crowchild Blackhawks and Westwood Warriors merged. The team name from Westwood remained and the logo from Crowchild carried on.

Bryan Boechler, president of the Crowchild association, said this is the first complaint they’ve received about the logo.

“The warrior is a revered figure in the First Nations heritage, so that’s the perspective we took in bringing our new name to the forefront,” said Boechler. He said the association consulted with Indigenous people when the logo was first introduced and that it honours what the Indigenous community means to Calgary, much like Crowchild Trail does.

They have no plans to change the logo, but would consider it if more concerns arise.

“The reality is we’re a member organization, so should there be direction from our membership or concern that we’re somehow doing something negative . . . we would consider it,” he said.

Hockey Calgary declined to comment on the logo, noting it’s up to individual associations to make their own emblem choices. Hockey Alberta did not provide a comment.

The debate surrounding Indigenous images in team logos and mascots has been ongoing for years.

In 2014, an activist group in the United States launched a social media campaign using the hashtag #NotYourMascot during the Super Bowl in an effort to draw attention to misappropriation of Indigenous culture.