First Nations chief supports Blackhawks logo redesign with black hawk

A rendering of a new Chicago Blackhawks logo has the support of Quebec’s top First Nations chief according to a story by CBC.

Ghislain Picard, the head of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, approved a change of Chicago’s logo.

The above logo was created by Mike Ivall, a Toronto-based Ojibwa artist. It features an actual black hawk with the team’s similar color scheme. Ivall says he no longer owns the rights to the design. Ivall created the logo in 2008 according to Chi-Town Review.

From Chi-Town Review, 

“Personally I have had no issue with the Hawks logo, nor has any of my family, which are all proud Ojibwas from southern Ontario,” Ivall told Chi-Town Review in an email.

The story says Ivall sold the design to the Maplesoft Hawks, an Ottawa based children's hockey team. 

The bird would essentially replace the team’s current design, which is of an aboriginal warrior.

According to the piece Picard believes the team’s logo is just as offensive as that of the Washington Redskins. The Blackhawks name has not received the same level of scrutiny as the Redskins. For Washington, there have been multiple calls to change its name along with its logo. 

The logo was recently posted on Facebook by Winnipeg radio hosts Tom and Larry. 

The Winnipeg Jets banned headdresses at their games when the Blackhawks visit in part because of a complaint by longtime Jets fan Jordan Wheeler.

Wheeler is Cree, from the George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan.

The Blackhawks logo has often been named the league’s best by various media outlets.