LINDSAY CHUNG
Observer Reporter
There’s a new logo for Orange Shirt Day, the National Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration and the Quesnel Tillicum Society Annual Memorial Pow Wow, and it was designed by a 14-year-old who, according to her mother and teacher, has always shown a lot of artistic talent.
Brittany Beaulieu, who is in Grade 9 in Quesnel Distributed Learning, was chosen as the winner of a recent logo contest. She received $250, a phone, a data card, a tablet and a carrying case on May 17.
Beaulieu’s mother, Tammy Burrows, says it only took her about 20 minutes to come up with the winning logo.
“She did that so quick,” she says proudly.
“It just kind of came to her. Art has been with her ever since she was able to put pen to paper. She’s always been really artistic.”
Beaulieu is not only an artist, but also a writer.
The logo contest was open to School District 28, College of New Caledonia and University of Northern B.C. students, and the winner was chosen by the Quesnel Tillicum Society Elders Guiding Circle.
“This logo will last in our hearts forever, and I love it; when someone says, ‘I wonder where that was done,’ – and it’s local,” says Holli Garvin, president of the Quesnel Tillicum Society and a School District 28 employee.
“We’re really proud.”
The logo features a moose, an eagle and a wolf in a circle, and there are two feathers outside the circle. “All My Relations” is written at the top of the circle, and the three parts of the circle include the words “Honor,” “Spirit” and “Pride.” The three celebrations are included in the circle.
Garvin says the wolf, the symbol of the circle and the feathers outside the circle in particular mean a lot to her.
“I thought that was a good choice because all these animals on there live here,” adds Elder Robert Jimmie.
Patty Kimpton, the Aboriginal Education principal for School District 28, says during the 2012-13 school year, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission went to Williams Lake, and that year, for the first time, School District 28, School District 27, the Cariboo Regional District and the Cities of Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House, proclaimed Sept. 30 as Orange Shirt Day.
Orange Shirt Day is held every Sept. 30 in honour of the generations of Southern Carrier, Chilcotin and Shuswap children who attended St. Joseph’s Residential School (which was open from 1886 to 1981).
“Orange Shirt Day is about acknowledging what happened with residential schools, but on top of that, we’re trying to re-set some longstanding views of who Indigenous people are,” says Kimpton.
“Our purpose is to honour the call to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in education and to raise awareness of the impact of residential schools on First Nations and Indigenous people,” she explains.
“We’re hoping the awareness grows from year to year until it becomes a part of our understanding of our history. The whole goal of raising awareness is we want to respond to the call from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the legacy of residential schools in our school system and to make sure these things never happen again.”
In School District 28, schools have been teaching curriculum about residential schools for more than five years, but particularly in the last year, the curriculum has been revised to acknowledge First Peoples’ Principles of Learning, explains Kimpton.
Kimpton says the steering committee for Orange Shirt Day, National Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration Committee and the Quesnel Tillicum Society Annual Memorial Pow Wow Committee wanted a logo to promote all three celebrations because the committees all work collaboratively. Kimpton says while they are separate committees, quite often, the membership overlaps.
“We’re trying to align things,” she says. “It’s about moving forward together in a positive and constructive way.”
The three committees sponsored the logo contest, and the logo will be used by all three committees as part of their advertising on posters, social media sites, T-shirts and more.
The Quesnel Tillicum Society Annual Memorial Pow Wow is held every Thanksgiving long weekend to celebrate and share Indigenous culture and traditions with the community by drumming, dancing and teaching. The Pow Wow honours individuals and groups that have made a lasting impact in the Indigenous community by upholding not only the culture, traditions and unique talents, but also showing the strength, dignity, honour and pride of the Indigenous people.
The National Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration is held every June 21 to celebrate Indigenous culture, educational excellence and transitions to different stages in life – including, but not limited to, Walking Out Ceremony to honour those children entering school, honouring Grade 12 graduates, showcasing local Indigenous talent, teachings of culture and traditions, and sharing these milestones with the community.