Aboriginal People's Heritage reflected in Winter Olympics 2010

I am very proud of the Vancouver Olympic Opening Ceremony which incorporated so much of the First Nations and Aboriginal culture into the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. I didn't mention it in my post last night about the Opening Ceremonies but Aboriginal presence and participation was one of the highlights of the show for me.

The First Nations of the traditional territories on which the games are being held were recognized as heads of state and seated directly behind the Canadian Prime Minister and the Governor General. Four totem poles were raised from the centre of the stadium, and greetings were given to the crowd (and the world) in the languages of the four host First Nations (Squamish Nation, Musqueam Indian Band, Lil'wat First Nation, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nation), as well as English and French. The arms of the totems were raised in a traditional gesture of greeting to welcome the athletes and the world. The Aboriginal peoples later formed a welcome circle to prepare for the forthcoming Parade of the Nations and danced traditional welcoming dances as the athletes entered the stadium. In addition to the representation and welcome by the four host First Nations, there were representatives of the 52 tribal groups of Aboriginal peoples in Canada, the First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

[Photo credits: Canoe.ca]

[Photo credit: gymnasticscoaching.com]

This year's Olympic medals are stunningly beautiful and so unique. They reflect the First Nations heritage of Canada, and in particular, British Columbia, the host province for this year's winter Olympics.

It took a team of people two years to make this year's medals. It was a collaborative effort between Canadian Aboriginal designer/artist, Corinne Hunt, internationally renowned industrial designer, Omer Arbel, the Royal Canadian Mint, Teck Resources Limited, and VANOC’s in-house design team.

The medals are made from master artworks created by Corrine Hunt, a Vancouver, BC-based artist of Komoyue and Tlingit heritage. Hunt chose the orca as the motif for the Olympic medals. Each medal is hand-cropped and no two are alike so each Olympic medal athlete will have a treasured and unique creation.

(Orca panels)

The orca, designed across four panels in the style of a traditional West Coast First Nations bentwood box, is often associated with the attributes of strength, dignity and teamwork.
The first of Canada's medals is a silver medal won by Jennifer Heil, from Spruce Grove, Alberta, for mogul skiing. Congratulations Jennifer! You make us Canadians proud.

In closing let me link you with the video to the full Opening Ceremonies.
I could not embed it so I've linked it here.

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/collections/collectionid=40427/index.html

I decided to put this up after my dear blogger friend, Laura from Paris asked for suggestions. If you look at the bottom of the video screen you will see a long bar divided into several parts. The main portion of the Aboriginal participation is included in the first bar. You can also go to the link for more Olympic coverage.