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Historic partnership which was struck with Adidas hockey for new uniforms and gear for our staff and players
Here are some photos that were taken during the unveiling event that was hosted in Ouje-Bougoumou on December 9, 2021. We apologize for the low quality of pictures as they are obviously mostly from cell phone cameras. We are awaiting access to the film crew's material who were present during the event for better quality material.
Brief description of the meaning of the uniform design:
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- While the Bears have utilized various color schemes throughout the years, Orange was chosen to mirror a current delicate yet important issue of First Nations in Canada: the survivors of the Residential schools era, and to those who unfortunately and tragically did not make it home. Historically, the Bears program featured red, black and white colors on uniforms.
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- The new logo was chosen and designed mutually by both the Adidas staff as well as input from EISRA staff and Board members, along with the participation of one of our own Cree artists, Landen Spencer. Given that we were going for a new look, we voted on having a fresh newly-designed logo to go with the new uniforms. Hence, the 'C' designed as a Bear paw with its claws markings above the 'C'. The original logo appears as shoulder patches on both sets of jerseys.
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- As for the feathered ribbon, it is two-fold: the orange, again, represents the issue of the Residential school system; the red feather represents another strong cause in our Nation: the missing and murdered Indigenous women. It appears on both the jerseys and the pant shells.
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The Adidas design crew were incredible in their attention to detail and tremendous professional work on designing the uniforms to fit our vision and the ones they also had based on the history of our team and the Indigenous community at large.
Guest speakers (from a distance) who shared powerful and inspirational messages to commemorate our unveiling.
Jonathan Cheechoo
Carey Price
Israel Mianscum
P.K. Subban
In this picture is Dan Near, one of the architects of this tremendous partnership. Without wanting to divulge too much, it is safe to say that they, at Adidas, had their intentions in the right places. They approached us about this potential partnership, and it worked out as well as could be expected coming from a professional and global organization. It is important to note that, the uniforms came out as incredible as they did thanks to the fact that they brought in the same people that work for the NHL teams with all of the jersey designs. It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege to be able to work with such world-class people, and the partnership in itself is a gift. We will be eternally grateful for this opportunity, and we are thankful to Dan and all of his staff that we have met and worked with throughout this process.
