Indigenous players design reconciliation jerseys for Winnipeg high school team

When the Oak Park Raiders kick off their football game on Friday afternoon, they'll be wearing special Truth and Reconciliation jerseys laden with imagery and infused with pride.

"It's been a little bit more emotional than I would have thought at first. It's a big deal," said coach Chris Ollson, whose squad will debut the jerseys the day before National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

"It's not that long ago that wearing these colours and wearing these pictures on a uniform would not have been allowed. It really puts it home that this is something bigger than maybe we thought we were doing originally."

The idea for the uniform sprouted two years ago, when Ollson asked player Dawson Andrews, who is from Dakota Tipi First Nation, if his dad would like to give a pre-game speech to the team and then perform the coin toss at what they've named the Truth and Reconciliation game.

Andrews' dad is the chief of Dakota Tipi, which is west of Winnipeg, next to Portage la Prairie.

Last year, Andrews approached Ollson with an idea to create a special sticker for the Winnipeg high school team's helmets. That led to a conversation and bigger ideas.

"We started drawing some stuff out on the white board … [and] it kind of snowballed into this beautiful uniform that we've got now," Ollson said.

Once the decision was made to go full out and create a jersey, Andrews, 17, recruited his D-line teammate Rocco Linklater, who is from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation in Nelson House.

"It was an amazing experience to collab with other Indigenous youth for these jerseys," Andrews said.

Linklater came up with the idea of using Cree syllabics to spell out the Raiders name, Andrews said.

"We got them in a couple days ago, and they're amazing to look at,