So, in 1940, they introduced an identification system in which Inuit wore numbered leather discs around their necks to access social services. They also began furtively updating their Commonwealth Stadium to include massive new murals, dozens of green-and-yellow flags, and a gargantuan 60-meter-long elk head painted on the field. Im fortunate that it didnt have to be my primary motive. Saskatchewan Roughriders. Indigenous faculty, students, and staff have been talking about this for a long time, but it wasnt taken up until the university looked bad, says Spice. At the end of it all, money talks, she says. Media are asked to RSVP for the event via email to [emailprotected]. The decision came following a review by the franchise after it twice opted to maintain its team name. We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Ryerson University will rebrand, too, owing to its namesakes colonial legacy. They found that Inuit impressions of the name varied wildly. Watt wanted it to be modern yet iconic and versatile enough to appear on jerseys, helmets, football fields, keychains, hats, socks and beer cozies. Edmonton failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2018, and the lack of wins drove fans away in record numbers. They received more than 14,800 submissions. His understanding of the Edmonton sports market is second to none. RCMP may never fully learn why Myles Sanderson went on a deadly stabbing rampage on a Saskatchewan First Nation, but they may be able to offer answers that some experts say could help victims families make sense of it all. The team ended up embracing the term, formally renaming themselves in 1910. residents advocate for workplace safety, Province says it has sold 7 buildings that housed SLGA stores, Sask. Cui was announced as the Club's president on January 25, 2022 and brings a wealth of global sports experience to the hometown team he grew up cheering for. By the end of August, the team had sold as much merch as it normally moves by November. Walmart and Target had stopped selling their gear. On June 1, the team unveiled its new Edmonton Elks branding, 10 months after the team agreed to change its name from the Eskimos - a racial slur against Inuit peoples. Now they are starting a new season with former REDBLACKS coordinator Jaime Elizondo as Head Coach. EXCLUSIVE: Edmonton born-and-raised businessman and co-founder of Asian-based ONE Championship mixed-martial arts organization to be introduced in Tuesday press conference. Its also about the bottom line. In this story: Former Ohio State star quarterback J.T. Not only have Elks home crowds been ridiculously down this year, the Edmonton Oilers are also holding the long-awaited banner raising for Kevin Lowe at the same time. Edmonton CFL franchise changes name to Elks. A new poll suggests Albertans have mixed feelings over a $1.2-billion hockey arena and event centre in Calgary, which was announced less than a week before the province heads into an election. 2023 Edmonton Elks. After considerable discussion and consideration, the board of directors determined our significant on- and off-field problems required changes at the senior leadership level in order to rectify the short comings and rebuild the trust and confidence of the Elks fans and community, Elks board chair Ian Murray said Monday afternoon. That same month, Belairdirect, a longtime sponsor of the Edmonton clubs 50/50 draw, threatened to cut ties with the team. What Can I Do? Edmonton's Victor Cui will be named the next president and CEO of the Edmonton Elks in a press conference scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. This led to a ten-year Grey Cup drought. So, why would he leave that job to take the EE job? Today, ONE Championship is now No. Transactions Transaction | Elks Ink Quarterback Ivory Durham March 20, 2023 | Hernan Salas Elite-level football returned to Edmonton in 1938 with a team once again called the Eskimos, this time in the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU). #GOELKS | The Edmonton Elks are the most successful franchise of the Canadian Football League's modern era. Edmonton Elks mauled 43-10 by B.C. Financial details, as well as the Chairs Report, Treasurers Report, and President's Reportwill be on the agenda. The team fired team president Chris Presson, general manager Brock Sunderland and head coach Jamie Elizondo. Scammers Are Posing as Recruiters on LinkedIn and Swindling Job Seekers, Fed-up Workers Are Rage-applying Their Way to Better Jobs. By the summer of 2020, patience was wearing thin. I was the recipient of the Johnny Bright Scholarship based on community, leadership, academics and sports. Whether it's a mental health day or a reduced workload, there are a number of ways that employers and employees can deal with workplace stress to the benefit of everyone, a Toronto-based psychologist says. Two Calgary men, wanted in separate killings, are still on the nation's most wanted list, authorities said Monday. A week later, the gambling website Sports Interaction, which was in the process of negotiating sponsorship terms with the team, publicly requested a rebrand, too. Ask a Recruiter: I Got a Salary Offer Thats Way Too Low. They are a team, as we have seen, with a proud history of success. For me, this is just about the greatest opportunity I can think of to be able to take my global sports experience that Ive been so lucky to have been able to build and bring it to my hometown to the team that I love.. The coaches wore in Elks jackets and carried Elks playbook binders. All three have contributed a lot to the CFL and the game of football and Id like to thank them all for their time spent with our club., Read more: 11000 Stadium Road Not only were his peers mocking his culture, he says, but they were also using Indigenous customs as a form of entertainment. [9] In 1910 the club was officially named the Edmonton Eskimos and was briefly called the Edmonton Elks during 1922. Anne Spice, an assistant professor of Indigenous environmental knowledge and a Tlingit member of the Kwanlin Dn First Nation, says that even in early 2021, a name change didnt seem to be on the table. [6] The board consists of a chairman, treasurer, secretary, and seven directors. It changed one letter in the grand scheme of things, he says. Edmonton Elks. We'll be providing live updates on the deal from Parliament Hill as the day unfolds. Media are invited to The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium for Thursday morning's AGM. After nearly four years of meetings and polling and outreach, the board announced that the team would keep the original name and increase northern engagementthat is, they would send players to Inuit communities to play football, speak at anti-bullying seminars and celebrate local festivals. Through our unwavering commitment to integrity, accessibility and passion, the Green and . If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. Use of this Website assumes acceptance of Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy, Stay up to date on the latest, breaking news, Oilers, EPS to speak Monday after stabbings, police shooting near Ice District, Strike over for 120,000 public servants as union inks tentative deal with feds, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith expected to call Alberta election today. It was frustrating to see the institution drag its feet on this, she says. This weekend came to a violent conclusion in Surrey after a stabbing and shooting just hours apart. After a five-year stay, he joined ONE Championship, a mixed-martial arts property also based in Singapore. My board at ONE Championship said I could work from anywhere in the world. Im in the position to make the Edmonton Elks the best sports organization in the country.. In February 2020, the franchise announced it was keeping the name after a yearlong research period that involved Inuit leaders and community members across Canada. The Elks keep the numbers in circulation rather than retire them from use. Here's what's in it. The board said the search has begun for permanent replacements of the CEO and general manager. My daughter, Kayleigh, is 13 and my son, Liam, is 11. He then managed to get a job in Kuala Lampur working with the organizing committee of the Commonwealth Games that I covered. A few days before the big game, Obed wrote an op-ed for The Globe and Mail in which he implored the team to rebrand, explaining that most Inuit no longer call themselves by that name. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Administrators and elected officials now have to decide what to do with offensive team names and mascots, statues of slaveholders, and schools named after dead colonizers. Get email updates from your favourite authors. Edmonton Elks are proud members of the Canadian Football League, playing their [19] Saying, If this is something that is insensitive to another group of people, that is something I can understand being a minority myself.[20], The team colours, green and gold, have remained essentially the same over the years with only minor modifications to the uniform or logo until 2021, when the EE logo was designated as a secondary logo,[21] and introduced a new logo of a stylized image of an elk and the Elks helmet logo was changed to antlers. They moved to Edmonton, where I was born. Through our unwavering commitment to integrity, accessibility and passion, the Elks deliver a sports and entertainment experience worthy of champions. The team won five consecutive Grey Cups (197882), led by superstar quarterbacks Warren Moon and Tom Wilkinson and head coach Hugh Campbell. ", Panthers restrict ticket sales to U.S. residents for home games against Maple Leafs, Mariners top Blue Jays 10-8 in extra innings, Canadians are worried about shrinkflation and if its here to stay: poll, Body of missing 8-year-old girl found in Maskwacis, 3rd suspect charged. The team has a rivalry with the Calgary Stampeders and is one of the three community-owned teams in the CFL. Founded in 1949, the Edmonton team has won the Grey Cup 14 times, second only to the Toronto Argonauts at 17. A driver has been ticketed after a pedestrian was hit in a crosswalk in Halifaxs south end Sunday evening. The It had been called the Edmonton Football Team up until the announcement, but its logo continued to feature two Es. By then, the board had discussed the issue at every meeting for four years straight, says Richards, and it was time to move on. If people wont listen to us about this issue, how can we expect people to listen to us on bigger items? Norma Dunning, an Inuk researcher, and professor at the University of Alberta says the decision to keep the name seemed like an affront to Inuit whod voiced their discontent. To wit: his high school hockey team. 2023 Tim Bachman, a founding member of the Canadian rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, has died. For the first time in their life they experienced minus-40 degrees. There was no handbook on rebranding. The issue will not go away. Teams in the CFL have an operations cap essentially a salary cap for coaches and managers and the Elks will be affected by these changes, but the club couldnt say what that will look like yet. The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium Edmonton Elks clean house: Presson, Sunderland and Elizondo fired after dismal football season. The move comes 10 months after the club dropped its longtime name, Eskimos. Welcome to the official page of the 14-time Grey Cup champions: The Edmonton Elks. In 2019, Maine became the first state to outlaw Indigenous team names, mascots and logos. 1 ELKS PRESIDENT & CEO VICTOR CUI Mounties on Vancouver Island are appealing to the public to help find a missing 40-year-old woman. It all starts at 11:30 a.m. MDT as the Club presents its financial results for the year ending Dec. 31, 2021. Sports Interaction is owned and operated by the Mohawks of Kahnawake, a community of 8,000 near Montreal. It was incredibly hurtful, says Obed. Those shareholders are represented by a board of nine volunteer directors. The team played its first organized games with the formation of the Alberta Rugby Football League in 1895. I was this young, short, chubby, chatty Philippino guy from Castledowns in north side Edmonton. Nearly 2,000 people participated, flooding partners inboxes. The Edmonton Elks kick off their 74th regular season on Sunday, June 11, when the Green and Gold host the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Commonwealth Stadium. This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Elks look back on a season which fell way short of expectations. Others added that they would welcome a review of the name. With a new treatment, they represent our history. 2023 CFL ENTERPRISES LP. This move was supported by multiple indigenous groups, including the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a group representing over 60,000 Inuit across Canada. Details for the event can be found below. For the Canadian football-rugby union team of the early 20th century, known in 1922 as the Edmonton Elks, see, "Edmonton Eskimos" redirects here. 2023 SJC MediaPrivacy Policy | Terms of Use. It will not change the brand of football we play., By then, Len Rhodes had left the team to run for provincial office; he lost and later took the top job at Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis. Cui went to both Seville, Spain, for the lead-in worlds and to the Sydney Olympics to help organize Edmonton 2001 marketing and promotional functions. It was really an accumulation of things. By that point, Edmontons football team had already dropped its old name. The board asked if there was anything they could doengage with Inuit communities, acknowledge Indigenous land, launch special programsthat would allow them to keep the name in good faith. community-owned and remains focused on providingoutstandingfootball The term was and still is, used as a racial slur. The team did not win the Grey Cup again until 1975, the longest drought in team history. Canadas tax deadline has arrived. In 2015, soon after his election, the Canadian Football Leagues Edmonton Eskimos advanced to the Grey Cup. The university accepted all of its own recommendations, and a new name is now on the horizon. [24], Team alumni have figured prominently in Alberta political life: past players include two former provincial premiers (Peter Lougheed and Donald Getty), a former mayor of Edmonton (Bill Smith),[25] and a lieutenant-governor (Norman Kwong). Murray said the team got to a point of unprecedented irritation from fans due to issues around ticketing and game day experience. Media are welcome to arrive beginning at 11 a.m. MDT, with lunch provided. GoElks.com Toronto police are set to make a major announcement on Canadas most wanted individuals on Monday morning. In November 2020, the club canvassed its fans for ideas. Wally is unrivalled as a winner in this league and we have every confidence that with his help we will find the general manager that will lead this team back to excellence, Murray said. In September of 2020, the team let go equipment manager Dwayne Mandrusiak in his 49th season with the team, a move that drew ire from fans. My brother, R.J., still lives here and owns a business.. In Edmonton, too, it was sponsors that finally precipitated a name change. This past May, the Tkemlps te Secwpemc First Nation announced that 215 childrens remains had been located at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Since re-entering the WIFU in 1949, Edmonton is the only team to have two dynasties of three or more successive Grey Cups: 19541956 and 19781982. Why This Toronto Agency Shared Its Salary Bands on Social Media, Would You Tell Your Boss How You Really Feel About Work? For Edmonton, Elks was selected among a shortlist that included Elkhounds, Eagles, Evergreens, Evergolds, Eclipse, and Elements. He found that revenue remained stable in the year following the rebrand and then increased in subsequent years. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Theyre the largest regional sports broadcaster in the world and I ran their new business development department for events and event management.. The mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, a longtime fan of the team, said he didnt mind the name. Along with the new name, the team also revealed its new logo. It got to the point where we really felt that we got to a situation as an organization where we needed a different leadership team to get us out of the circumstance and to turn things around in a timely manner.. Throughout the 20th century, government officials and anthropologists used the word to deride Inuit in the courts, calling them unhygienic, unintelligent, and lazy. The Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club, unaffiliated with the current team, was an early Canadian football-rugby union team based in Edmonton. Quebec and Ontario public health bodies are reminding residents that as the snow melts, ticks emerge. Photo by File photo / Supplied. Terms Of Use Privacy Policy. In July of 2020, after years of controversy, Washingtons NFL team promised a thorough review of their name. Last December, the team announced it had extended Sunderland's contract until 2023. 2023 Edmonton Sun, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. If they rebranded, they risked alienating their fanssome of whom had threatened to boycott if the team changed their nameand losing their single biggest revenue stream: more than $8 million in annual ticket sales. The next day, the team announced they would accelerate their name review process. The club will be actively engaging with fans, season seat holders and key stakeholders to learn from their experiences to help with a quick rebuild on and off the field for the 2022 season, the news release said. We have always been Inuit.. The news came after 3-11 season which saw the Elks finish in last place in the overall standings, but the teams struggles werent only on the field. And now I get to take all of that knowledge and take it home to a team that gave me my first scholarship. Toronto Argonauts. Tom Richards, a board member who played for the club in the 1980s, fielded complaints from former players. Founded in 1949, the team, known for their Green and Gold colours, are 14-time Grey Cup champions, including the historic five-in-a-row from 1978 to 1982. Meanwhile, non-Indigenous fans seemed largely untroubled by the issue. We like it a lot.#ElksCharge pic.twitter.com/5nkcDi46rV. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is expected to call a provincial election during an announcement later this morning in Calgary. Access articles from across Canada with one account. David Beard, a player who visited Inuvik as part of the teams outreach, was pleased with the new moniker. The Edmonton Elks spent nearly $2 million on their rebranding, which included an overhaul of the Commonwealth Stadium, seen here during a game in September. Elks was one of seven potential name changes the Edmonton Football Team provided on its short list. What Does Silicon Valley Banks Collapse Mean for Canadians? When the Edmonton Football Team announced last year that it was discontinuing its old name, team president Chris Presson said it was the franchise's hope to keep its double-E logo and green and gold colors. Edmonton Elks | 3,828 followers on LinkedIn. The club had lost $1.1 million in 2019 and were on their way to posting a $7.1-million loss in 2020the consequence of a season canceled by COVID. Then their sponsors threatened to drop them", "CFL's Edmonton Eskimos dropping 'Eskimo' from team name", "Edmonton Eskimos' name change is praised by a national Inuit group, seen as a step toward dismantling racism", "Edmonton finally drops the Eskimos and may my grandchildren never hear the E-word again", "Edmonton's CFL team changes name to Elks after dropping Eskimos", "Eskimos legend Warren Moon supportive of name change", "The Double E's are here to stay, in a new way. During this period the team was also known for its stellar defensive line, with future Canadian Football Hall of Famers like Danny Kepley and Danny Bass winning Defensive Player of the Year Awards and Willie Pless winning the trophy a record five times. When the Supreme Court first ordered the feds to administer health care to Inuit, officials struggled to spell and pronounce their names. In 2017, as the university celebrated Canadas sesquicentennial, the student union and Indigenous students association formally requested that the school change its name and remove the statue of Ryerson from campus. Over the years, we brought in over 30 families. The Elks have also led the CFL in attendance for many years. (The city was represented by the Edmonton Civics in 1914 and the Edmonton Canucks in 1919.) But as the nation moves toward progress, it is also stuck with the relics of an unjust past. Refusing to shed a problematic name, he added, borders on managerial malpractice., In late July of 2020, Edmontons football team announced they would rebrand. Then their sponsors threatened to drop them. [28] Nanook, a polar bear, was introduced in 1997, but was retired and replaced with Spike in 2021, coinciding with the rebranding. The Ontario government is introducing a new mandatory mental health-focused curriculum for high school students. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited. A large fire near Abbotsford International Airport sent a plume of smoke billowing into the air Monday morning. In the interim, Allan Watt, the teams executive director of marketing, has been named interim chief operating officer. Our sponsors were getting too many phone calls, says Tom Richards. Report to Shareholders Download the 2021 Report to Shareholders Download the 2020 Report to Shareholders Download the 2019 Report to Shareholders I got a chance to have this fantastic sports career all around the world and build a multi-billion dollar business. This was not going to go away.. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We want to learn their experiences and to help build on their views and lead to a quick rebound on and off the field for the 2022 season, Murray said. "It should have happened. .mw-parser-output .citation{word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}a Defunct. Founded in 1949, the team, known for their Green and Gold colours, are 14-time Grey Cup champions, including the historic five-in-a-row from 1978 to 1982. EDMONTON - The Edmonton Elks have signed National kicker Michael Domagala, American linebacker Tobi Antigha and American quarterback Felix Harper. In many ways, to Cui, this is an act of giving back. Were First Nationsowned. Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Edmonton SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way.