The Edmonton Oilers are honoring Black History Month with Wednesday's game against Boston, the third of four games this season to celebrate the cultural community that supports the club.
For the Indigenous Celebration game on November 13, the Lunar New Year game on February 13, the Black History Celebration game on February 21, and the South Asian Celebration game on March 21, the series collaborated with local artists to create logos featuring elements of those cultures.
As will appear on the jerseys that Oilers players may wear in the locker room on Wednesday, as well as on various merchandise in the team store, the logo that honors the Black community is inspired by African textiles.
“I hope people feel seen,” creator and artist AJA Louden told CTV News Edmonton in a recent interview. “They (see) kente fabric… and recognize those patterns and motifs. Or bogolan fabric or any of the Ankara elements that you see in the piece and they say, 'Hey, that's ours.' “This is from us and it is connected to hockey and this team that we love.”
Although known for his large-scale murals and visual art, Louden has recently been exploring textile art and working on a series of tapestries.
This artistic expansion influenced his version of the Oilers logo.
“We see a lot of very clean, graphic lines in some of these logos, so I just wanted to do something that had that earthy feel to it,” he said of how he came up with the idea to give the image a badass vibe.
“This was inspired by these clay and wax printed fabrics that I saw where they were a little bit distressed and looked handmade.”
Alberta artist AJA Louden talks to CTV News Edmonton in February 2024 about the Black culture-inspired logo he created for the Edmonton Oilers. (CTV News Edmonton/Nahriman Issa)
“I think it's tight,” complimented Joaquin Gage, who played goalie for the Oilers in the 1990s and early 2000s.
He was one of five black players on Edmonton's 2000-01 team, at which time he was a starter. A historic amount of representation within the NHL.
“It was special, but – to be honest – it was never talked about. It's funny. I asked that question to Craig McTavish, who was our coach at the time, and he didn't even realize it.” “Until later,” Gage recalled to CTV News Edmonton.
“I knew it was something special when we were actually playing the St. Louis Blues. I remember being at the airport and holding one of these things.” USA Today. Typically in that newspaper, hockey was on the back page of sports at the time. And that photo was on the front of USA Today's sports news, a photo of all five of us.”
A photo of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2000-2001 season, which included five black players on its roster.
He believes one reason it didn't turn into a bigger deal is because everyone was focused on something else.
“We were all together trying to achieve one goal. That was the most magical part of being on this team – and the music was a lot better in the dressing room, let's face it.”
The slogan also represents a full-circle moment for Lowden, who says black Canadians who grew up on the prairies, like himself, have a very specific experience.
“Maybe sometimes there's this feeling of isolation, but I also grew up skating. My dad poured a pond in the back; we just had a little rink there. And so on.” [hockey] “It's a big part of my personal heritage as well and my cultural history,” Lowden said.
“A lot of white people were playing hockey when I was growing up. Seeing someone like Grant Fuhr become a star and a huge fan favorite was very encouraging and important to me, especially growing up in a small town in Alberta where I didn't play hockey.” “I don’t feel represented in many other areas around me.”
Seeing other people who looked like him among artists would later show him that he could become one too.
Gage also pointed to Furr to explain the importance of diversity in sports.
Former Edmonton Oilers goaltender Joaquin Gage speaks to CTV News Edmonton in February 2024 via Zoom. (CTV News Edmonton)
“Most guys, it doesn't matter what color you want Grant to be. But the fact that I look more like Grant than most other young goalies was special to me,” he said.
Gage, Sean Brown and George Laraque are all scheduled to be present for Wednesday's game.
Each Cultural Celebration game at Rogers Place will feature traditional programs, such as music and dance.
Additionally, when play is off, the club will feature local community members who are doing impactful work.
“The best we can do is share the platform and not try to control that voice,” said Dan Cote Rosen, vice president of marketing for Oilers Entertainment Group.
Currently, the Oilers have two black players: Darnell Nurse and Evander Kane.
Their opponent on Wednesday, the Boston Bruins, were the first NHL team to put a black player, New Brunswick's Willie O'Ree, on its roster in the late 1950s and 1960s.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of items with cultural logos will be donated to organizations of the artists' choice. A complete set of signed jerseys with each logo will be auctioned.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nahraman Issa
