Author: BC Sports Hall of Fame
Published: June 25th, 2024
National Indigenous History Month – Artist Feature
With the development of the Digital Indigenous Sport Gallery, the Steering Committee and BC Sports Hall of Fame team prioritized how to integrate Indigenous sport history with Indigenous arts and culture. We partnered with Olivia George from Tsleil-Waututh Nation to create unique illustrations featured throughout the Digital Indigenous Sport Gallery to do just that! Born and raised in North Vancouver, Olivia is a self-taught artist who has been passionate about art since elementary school. As a Coast Salish artist, she strives to represent a story, animal or brand in a creative way using her modern twist on traditional style. Olivia has created designs for the North Shore Culture Compass, season passes for Mount Seymour Resort, medals for HSBC Canada Sevens Vancouver, the visual identity for the 2025 Invictus Games as a part of the Four Host First Nations, and public art featured on the Queen Elizabeth Theatre windows.
Olivia designed larger scale illustrations which are featured on landing pages throughout the site, as well as smaller illustrations utilized in the virtual guide, sport specific icons, and navigational icons. Each illustration Olivia designed has a story and carries meaning, let’s take a look at a few of these illustrations.
This design is featured on the ‘Our Story’ landing page which discusses the BC Sports Hall of Fame, our history of sharing Indigenous contributions to BC sport heritage, and our commitment to furthering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #87. The three individuals paddling together in a canoe represents the journey of the Indigenous Sport Gallery and working together towards reconciliation and the inclusion of Indigenous contributions to BC sport heritage.
This design utilizes the eagle and sun. The eagle, a sacred symbol, is a messenger between earth and the spirit world who represents strength, courage, and leadership. The sun is life giving, bringing peace and healing to those around it. These two elements come together to represent those who are physically, mentally and spiritually active and breaking barriers as Indigenous athletes, as they bring healing to generations of Indigenous peoples who did not have the chance to pursue and achieve their goals.
Featuring a canoe paddler and orcas, this design was created to be used in conjunction with the virtual guide of the Indigenous Sport Gallery. The paddler is guided in their canoe by the orcas, which symbolize family, community, and protection. Similarly to how the Digital Indigenous Sport Gallery and virtual guide helps the visitor navigate the website and learning on the contributions to BC sport heritage by Indigenous athletes.
Combining sport and culture together, this design features salmon which has been a traditional source of nourishment for Indigenous peoples in what is now known as British Columbia. The salmon is integrated into a basketball held in two hands, representing the nourishment that sport provides in the form of respecting and caring for one’s physical and mental wellbeing.
We are honoured to have worked with Olivia during the development of the Digital Indigenous Sport Gallery and hope that our partnership can continue to grow. To see more of Olivia’s illustrations, navigate throughout the website as her designs are featured as ‘Easter Eggs’, identification icons on the virtual guide, and sports icons in the ‘Gallery’ or check out her Instagram @oliviageorgedesigns. To learn more about Olvia and her art, follow this link to a video profile created for the Digital Indigenous Sport Gallery.
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