What a change two decades make
The mascots for the Vancouver Olympics were announced last week. They’re cute, and quite possibly have more personality than any mascot to date.
What makes Miga the sea-bear, Quatchi the sasquatch, and Sumi the thunderbird-bear really interesting, though, is that they’re inspired by the First Nations, one of Canada’s indigenous groups. It’s a marked change between Canada and the First Nations from the last time Canada hosted the Olympic Games.
Twenty years ago when the Winter Games were hosted in Calgary, one of the local museums put on an exhibition meant to run, in part, during the Olympic Games as part of the Olympic Arts Festival. The exhibit, “The Spirit Sings”, showcased artifacts from various indigenous groups around Canada, including the Lubicon Cree, who took exception to having their sacred items on display. They loudly protested the exhibit.
While not the best publicity for Canada while it was taking a turn on the world stage, it did open communications between Canada and the First Nations and helped to build the understanding between the groups that quite possibly led to Vancouver’s three charming ambassadors.
If nothing else, it does represent progress within Canada brought about by its repeatedly hosting the Games.
