By Radha Agarwal
Those who take gold at this year鈥檚 Rugby Sevens in Vancouver will be dawning a special gold piece of Musqueam First Nations culture.
As part of its long-standing partnership with the three host nations of Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh, this year鈥檚 gold medal was designed by Aleen Sparrow.
By integrating Salish traditions, the medal 鈥渆mbodies the spirit of resilience and connection to nature deeply rooted in Aleen鈥檚 Musquem culture,鈥� depicting the mountains and symbolizing the endurance of the Musqueam people, according to a news release.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very important for us to get our young artists recognized. It is their opportunity to participate in a world-class event like this,鈥� Chief Wayne Sparrow told Black Press Media.
鈥淪uch world events are a great opportunity to cover some history of the lands the players are playing on鈥o tell the visitor and guests about our cultural history.鈥�
Canada Sevens is a three-day international rugby tournament hosted February 23-25 at BC Place. It will bring 24 teams from across the world together for World Rugby Seven Series ranking points.
The event also draws attention to artistic endeavours of other Indigenous artists, like Debra Sparrow, who鈥檚 Salish textile weaving will be featured in the light display of BC Place.
鈥淚n the past we鈥檝e had teams from Fiji and New Zealand come into our community and teach kids. Its not just about rugby, but also their cultures, as they also have their own indigenous communities,鈥� Sparrow said. 鈥淚 think our community looks forward to that more than the games itself because the athletes engage with the us directly.鈥�
It will also be the first Sevens in Vancouver to display on its centreboard鈥攖he historic host city鈥檚 name in all three languages鈥� h蓹n虛q虛蓹min虛蓹m虛 (Halkomelem), sq史蠂史o蕯m蓹蕛 snit汀蕛im (Squamish) and English.
鈥淪uch partnerships come under the umbrella of reconciliation, to bring us together while welcoming world events.鈥�
