The Vancouver Warriors hosted their First Nations Celebration with an impressive logo design that honours the history and impact of the Creator’s game.  

The design was worked on by Pete Natrall along with the culture preserver from the Squamish Nation Vanessa Campbell and Ryan Johnson who is a Squamish Nation graphic artist.

The game started with an impressive opening ceremony that also saw several local young lacrosse enthusiasts in the  crowd cheering on the Warriors in what proved to help them pull out the big “W”.

Lacrosse, being Canada’s National Summer sport has been a lifelong sport for Natrall, who says having a professional lacrosse team in Vancouver is impactful and these nights are special for their community and the lacrosse community as a whole. 

Natural mentioned “I was really inspired by having the Vancouver Warriors in our community. It brings all of our teams and associations together in one night, in one arena, and be able to share our story as Coast Salish people.”

“The Squamish Nation has been playing lacrosse for hundreds of years and the game has a cultural connection to our community. It inspires our youth, drives them to play today and inspires them to potentially be a Vancouver Warriors player.” 

He continued by saying “The Coast Salish people are inherently visual storytellers and each part of the design was thought out to recognize the past, present, and future generations, starting with the three North stars.”  

The three stars highlight the connection of generations of Coast Salish people, while the Coast Salish eye represents the ancestors watching over and protecting them. 

“That design of the face is actually taken from my late grandfather’s design,” Natrall shared. “K’EMK’EMELA’ÝKINM is a Squamish word for Vancouver Warriors which is what you see in the logo.” 

In the middle of the W is a whale tale, symbolic of the killer whale, which represents community, family, and strength. The feathers on either side of the top band of the crest represent a ceremonial headpiece. 

He hopes that Warriors’ fans celebrate the deep connection that Indigenous people have to the game of lacrosse and celebrate that collectively in the community. 

“I want to represent lacrosse as a West Coast sport, honouring the ancestors here who created the game and share the story of its local heritage,” Natrall said. 

He continued to mention “That reignited my spark for lacrosse and being able to create customized plastic sticks, customized wood sticks and have an international following. It’s really amazing to be able to share what I do as a Squamish Nation person.”

In his spare time, Natrall also creates customized lacrosse sticks, continuing his storytelling through art. When Natrall’s son started to customize his own sticks for field lacrosse, Natrall took it up as well. 

This project represents the opportunity to share the history of the Squamish Nation and inspire the next generation to embrace the Medicine game. 

Lacrosse is a connection to his ancestors, a celebration of community, and a path forward for youth and he hopes this design unites everyone with the spirit of the game.

Given the overall fan support one could mention that it was the crowd that helped them win their seventh consecutive home game defeating the visiting Ottawa Black Bears 8-4.  

The Warriors held the Black Bears to only one goal in the second half that being an even-strength goal that saw the Warriors set a franchise record; only allowing four goals against.   

Adam Charalambides bulged the twine first for the Warriors and finished scoring a hat trick and collecting six points (3G, 3A). 

Keegan Bal had five points (1G, 4A), while Ryan Martel had four points (1G, 3A), with singles from Johnathan Peshko, Marcus Klarich, and Jeff Cornwall that saw Warriors’ “tender” Aden Walsh stop 33 of 37 shots he faced. 

The win allows Vancouver to improve to 4-3 on the season that will  see them make a cross country “road trip” playing the Halifax Thunderbirds January 31st at the Scotiabank Centre Friday at 3:30 pm, Local time. 

The Warriors host Calgary February 7th at 7 pm in a theme night called “Rock & Roll”.