Burnaby, BC, September 22, 2021 – In honour of the survivors of Canada’s residential schools, their families, and communities, Cycling BC, with the help of Jakroo Canada, is launching an orange cycling jersey designed by Tripleshot Cycling Club member and Indigenous artist Carey Newman. Through the orange jersey, Cycling BC aims to raise funds to bring awareness to the tragic history of Canada’s residential school system and help open up the conversation among our cycling community as we pedal towards healing and reconciliation.
“When Tripleshot Cycling and Carey Newman presented us with this opportunity to collaborate, we were on board immediately. It has been something we have been wanting to do for some time and Carey’s amazing design really hit a chord with us,” says Erin Waugh, CEO of Cycling BC. “As a cycling community, this is just one of the many ways we can help raise awareness of the issues that Indigenous people face and hopefully it opens up a dialogue that leads to better understanding.”
Net proceeds from the sale of the jerseys will be directed to charities and organizations that support residential school survivor groups across Canada. We will do our best to direct funds based on the province where the sale of the jerseys originates.
The orange jersey will be available in adult and youth sizing in a short sleeve road version and a long sleeve mountain bike version. A technical hoodie using the same design as the jerseys will be available for sale as well. Pre-orders for the orange jersey can be made at cyclingbc.net/shop now until October 7th and will ship out for delivery in early November.
About the design (from the artist): On Thursday, May 27th, I unveiled a hands-on hearts on totem project at my daughter’s school. The hope and inspiration of that morning, working with children, made for a stark contrast to the despair that came when later that day the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc announced that they had located 215 unmarked graves at the Kamloops residential school. Although it took me a few days to process the grief and weight of that moment, something that became very clear was that the graves of these Indigenous children were forcing Canadians to reckon with the humble exceptionalism that has anchored this country’s collective identity for too long. That is when I began to work on creating a new design using hearts and hands along with the number 215+. Together they represent both heartache and hope, and in further acknowledging the truth of Canada’s foundations, another step along the journey towards reconciliation.
About the artist: Carey Newman, whose traditional name is Hayalthkin’geme, is a multi-disciplinary Indigenous artist, master carver, filmmaker, author and public speaker.
Through his father, he is Kwakwak’awakw from the Kukwekum, Giiksam, and WaWalaby’ie clans of northern Vancouver Island, and Coast Salish from Cheam of the Sto:lo Nation along the upper Fraser Valley. Through his mother, his ancestors are Settlers of English, Irish, and Scottish heritage.
In his artistic practice, he strives to highlight Indigenous, social, and environmental issues as he examines the impacts of colonialism and capitalism, harnessing the power of material truth to unearth memory and trigger the necessary emotion to drive positive change. He is also interested in engaging with community and incorporating innovative methods derived from traditional teachings and Indigenous worldviews into his process.
Highlights from his career include being selected as the master carver of the Cowichan 2008 Spirit Pole, a journey that saw him travel the province of BC sharing the carving experience of carving a 20’ totem with over 11,000 people, a major commission entitled “Dancing Wind” installed at the 2010 Olympic Games, Athlete’s Village in Whistler, premiering the documentary he wrote and co-directed at the Vancouver International Film Festival as well as publishing his first book. He also continues to create for and consult with corporations, government agencies, collectors and museums around the world.
Perhaps his most influential work, The Witness Blanket, made of items collected from residential schools, government buildings and churches across Canada, deals with the subject of Truth and Reconciliation. It is now part of the collection at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Carey was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2017 and was named to the Order of British Columbia in 2018 and he is the Impact Chair in Indigenous Art Practice at the University of Victoria.
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About Cycling BC
Cycling BC is the governing body for the sport of cycling in British Columbia representing the full range of cycling disciplines including Road, Track, Cyclo-cross, Mountain Biking, BMX and Para-cycling. Cycling BC is responsible for licensing riders, coaches, officials, race organizers, and sanctioning over 200 cycling events annually. Cycling BC trains coaches & officials, delivers youth cycling programs in schools, and provides athletes with development opportunities to race nationally through high performance athlete development programs. Cycling BC is a not-for-profit association registered under the BC Societies Act and affiliated with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) through our membership in Cycling Canada. For more information on Cycling BC, visit cyclingbc.net