Anishinaabe artist paints hockey sticks for women’s world championships

Anishinaabe artist Cathie Jamieson’s artwork will soon be traveling the world.

Originally from Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the 32-year-old Manitoulin Island resident is one of four female Indigenous artists selected to create original artwork on hockey sticks for the IIHF Women’s World Championship hockey tournament that concludes Sunday in Brampton.

After each game, a stick is presented to the player of the game from each team.

Jamieson entered the call for artists and submitted her design and description of the concept, and eventually received an email from the selection committee congratulating her for being chosen.

“I was kind of taken aback,” Jamieson said. “I had never entered into an open call out before, or ever expected to be successful.”

Shawna Grapentine, a Cree Ojibwa from Rainy River, Ontario; Shenoa Simon from the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, and Angela Jason, an Ojibwe from Sheshegwaning First Nation were the other three artists selected for the project.

Jamieson’s work often involves painting with oils, acrylics, watercolors, and drawings, along with sculpture and photography.

She also does traditional craft making that includes pow wow regalia, ribbon skirts, and beading.

“Artwork was always a segue to storytelling in the context of identity and culture,” she noted.

Jamieson had to paint 25 sticks over a two-week period, sometimes spending 12 hours a day working on the project.

The artwork had to be replicated on each stick.

“That was a challenge for me because I never try to copy my own work,” said the artist. “Every piece I’ve ever done is original.

“If I’m ever asked to do something duplicate, I know just by my own hand that there will be a slight difference in each one,” Jamieson explained. “There is an accent or something different in each of the sticks, so they became 25 originals.”

She said her first thought in creating artwork for the hockey sticks was movement and decided to include an eagle.

“The eagle, in our Anishinaabe culture, teachings, and creation story, is a messenger,” explained the artist. “These women playing hockey are very much their own messenger for their families, and their teams.”

The design also featured different colored nodes representative of cycles of life, entwined by a floral design that depicts growth as an individual woman, and the support they get throughout life.

Jamieson attended the Canada vs. Japan game in Brampton on April 8 and was able to present her sticks to the players of the game.

“It was honoring and humbling to know that my artwork was going to be traveling and be taken home to different regions of the world,” she said. “I thought of my ability to share stories, parts of myself, my culture, and my identity with these women. A joining connection to their history and cultures.”

[email protected]