Cayuga artist's redesign of Ticats logo aims to add Indigenous pride to Hamilton's team

Kyle Joedicke has been a fan of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for as long as he can remember.

"My parents and my wife's entire family are lifelong Hamiltonians and truly bleed black and gold," he told CBC Hamilton.

So it was "incredibly special" when he was asked to redesign the team logo.

"Apart from it being a major career mark for myself, it's also just an important thing for me and my family," said the Cayuga artist.

Even though he's been making art since a young age, Joedicke didn't pursue it in a serious way until 2020, when he was laid off from his construction job.

His first professional mural was made in August of 2021. He has now been able to quit his part-time job building fences to pursue art full-time.

"It's been quite a whirlwind of the last three years in terms of what I've been able to accomplish," he said.

The CFL posted Indigenous-made redesigns for team logos on Monday to their social media accounts, but the Ticats have been showing off Joedicke's logo since September of 2023.

Teams are set to show off the designs during this week's games as part of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The Ticats also have special merchandise with the logo with part of the proceeds going to the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre.

Courtney Stephen is the senior director of marketing and community partnerships with the Hamilton Sports Group, which owns the Ticats and Hamilton's soccer team, Forge FC. Joedicke also redesigned their logo.

Stephen said when looking for an artist, Joedicke's name kept popping up.

They chose to do the redesign to "highlight the strength" of their partnership with urban Indigenous communities as well as communities from Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit First