Posted on 12/13/2020 1:23:18 PM PST by mkleesma
VANCOUVER -- Vancouver Canucks goalie Braden Holtby is apologizing after the artwork on his new custom-painted mask was criticized for appropriating First Nations art.
“I wanted to make sure I apologize to anyone I offended. It was definitely not my intent and I definitely learned a valuable lesson through this all and will make sure I’m better moving forward,” Holtby said in an interview with CTV News.
Pictures of Holtby’s custom-designed hockey mask were posted by artist David Gunnarsson on Instagram, but taken offline the next day after comments on social media began describing it as appropriating First Nations cultures.
The goalie mask is specially painted so that the wearer would appear to be wearing a mask with the face of a “thunderbird.” The text in the post describes the mask as “Thunderbird, The Northwest Coast Indigenous Myth.”
But a First Nations leader and a First Nations artist are speaking out against the design, which includes a painting style characteristic of several coastal First Nations such as the Haida, Tlingit, Heiltsuk and Kwakwakw’wakw.
“Immediately thoughts of cultural appropriation come up,” said Robert Philips, First Nations Summit Political Executive and member of the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw (Shuswap) of the Canim Lake First Nation.
“When we see the mask, although looking brilliant, one of the first questions you ask is ‘who made it?’”
Gunnarsson, who in a 2019 Sportsnet article was described as “one of the most prolific goalie mask artists in the sport,” is based out of Sweden.
He has not yet responded to emails from CTV News Vancouver.
“I believe as well that it is cultural appropriation however I feel the artist has taken a step in the right direction by removing it,” said Jay Soule, an Indigenous multi-disciplinary artist based in Toronto.
Soule, who is from the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, is also a long-time advocate who raises awareness about cultural appropriation of Indigenous arts through his website.
“When you think about the Indigenous economy and how it has been affected by all of this work coming from overseas, it is catastrophic to Indigenous artists and artisans who are trying to make a living through their work,” said Soule.
The front page of his website says that there is “a direct link between the importation of internationally made ‘Indigenous’ items, such as dream-catchers, masks, totems, statues, moccasins, images and other objects, and the devaluation of authentic, Indigenous art.”
“It’s about educating people about why it’s inappropriate, how it is inappropriate, who it hurts and how it hurts,” he said.
Both Soule and Phillips suggested the right method for Holtby would be to reach out and collaborate with an Indigenous artist for his mask design.
“He clearly likes Indigenous art that’s why he has chosen that style of work. Definitely collaboration with an Indigenous artist would be huge. How great would that be for Indigenous people to be represented in an organization like the NHL,” Soule said.
Holtby said that because of the uncertainty around the start of the NHL season his mask design was rushed – and that he will not be wearing it.
“The goal was and still is to include an Indigenous artist and try and pick their brain to see how they would design a mask to best represent the history and culture around this area especially because it’s so vast,” he said.
Holtby suggested that his mask-wearing could be part of First Nations storytelling, but did not specify which story from within the province’s 198 distinct First Nations he wants to help tell.
For Christ's sake, they these people to f**k off.
You do know, don’t you, that Chef Boy Ar Dee was an actual person of Italian birth as well as an accomplished chef who worked at the Plaza Hotel in NYC and the Hotel Winton in Cleveland as well as catering the wedding of President Woodrow Wilson to his second wife.
Ettore “Hector” Boiardi was born in Italy and came to the US at age 16 to work at the Plaza where his brother was Head Waiter. Within a year Boiardi was Head Chef. No small feat.
He opened his own restaurant, Il Giardino d’ Italia (“The Garden of Italy”) in Cleveland in 1924. His customers loved his food so much he started selling take home kits with pasta, sauce, olive oil, cheese and instructions.
Two of his regular customers were grocers who convinced him to go into the prepared meal business full time.
Boiardi realized that salesmen and customers had problems pronouncing his name so he changed the labels to the phonetic Boy-Ar-Dee.
That guy did more to spread Italian food across the country than anyone else.
Oh, I spent your compensation and reparations on plenty of the good Chef’s food back in the day. ;-)
Loved Chef Boy-Ar-Dee as a kid and still do!
If i were a hockey goalie, I think I’d want Achmed the Dead Terrorist painted on my mask. It’s how I roll. Of course, I’d pay a royalty to Jeff Dunham.
Because they removed her. I figured there might be that confusion with my OP so put the Before and After but see that did not work.
Liberal bullies are addicted to the shot of adrenaline that comes with perpetual outrage and the dopamine hit that comes from an exercise of power. “I get to bully you and ban something, and it is OK, because I’m doing it on behalf of this sacred cause.”
And attention seeking can be an element, too. Like imams banning women from handling bananas, calling for new things to be banned is a way to get attention and fame.
Interesting history......quite fascinating.
But have Italians run the company, and owned the brand, in the last 40 or 50 years?
The overwhelming majority of the Italian food I’ve eaten over the years has been prepared at home....by Italians or persons of Italian descent.
Thomas Sowell had a lot of good stuff to say on that issue in “The Vision of the Anointed.”
Hector Boiardi sold his company in 1946. It had gotten too big for him to manage. He did stay on as consultant and spokesman until his death in 1985. I’m pretty sure he kept the recipes and ingredients as close to original as possible.
My wife loved Italian cooking. She learned how at a very good Italian restaurant she worked at for five years. Her spaghetti, lasagna and other dishes were heavenly.
I fondly recall the boxed kits sold by the Boiardi company. At one point Hector Boiardi was the largest importer of olive oil and parmesan cheese in the US.
His marinara sauce still beats everything else.
That smiling face that beams out from the labels is an actual picture of The Man Hisownself.
Cultural Appropriation? Shall we tell other nations that they should not play basketball, baseball or volleyball since they developed in the US? Meanwhile although Europeans and some “First Nation” inhabitants of Canada played some precursors to hockey, it was Montreal, Canada, that was the center of the development of the sport of contemporary organized ice hockey.
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