First Nations Night

In March 2022, the Canucks held our fourth-annual First Nations celebration which included a ceremonial puck drop with Canucks alumni Ron Delorme and leaders from Orange Shirt Society, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, and Kamloops Indian Band.

The team worked with Musqueam artist Chase Gray to create our most recent limited-edition First Nations-inspired jersey and merchandise collection. Proceeds from the auction of select player-worn warmup jerseys plus sales of additional merchandise collection were donated to Orange Jersey Project, the hockey initiative from Orange Shirt Society that sends orange practice jerseys to youth hockey teams across Canada in order to spark dialogue about Canada’s residential school system and its harmful impact on Indigenous communities.

The Canucks For Kids Fund also made a $20,000 donation to Native Education College, a registered postsecondary school and charitable organization that helps Indigenous learners achieve success and improve their quality of life.

Canucks Sports & Entertainment is honored to live, work and play on the traditional ancestral and unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. The team’s engagement with local First Nations is part of the NHL’s Hockey Is For Everyone initiative, which uses the game of hockey and the league’s global influence to drive positive social change and foster more inclusive communities.

In 2021, the Canucks recognized National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30) at our first pre-season home game at Abbotsford Centre. Councillor Brenda Morgan from Matsqui First Nation and Chief Dalton Silver of Sumas First Nation hosted a traditional land acknowledgement and official welcome, followed by a moment of silence to honour the generations of children and families affected by Canada’s residential school system.

Canucks players also met with Chief Wayne Sparrow of Musqueam First Nations and wore the official Orange Shirt Day t-shirt. Fans can donate directly to the Orange Shirt Society by visiting orangeshirtday.org/donations.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was first observed in Canada in 2013 to honour the healing journey of Canada’s residential school survivors and to commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation. The Government of Canada recently passed legislation to make the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation be a federal statutory holiday beginning this year.