This artist from northern Ontario designed Toronto Maple Leafs logo for Indigenous heritage game Saturday

A special Toronto Maple Leafs logo, designed by an Indigenous artist from northern Ontario, will be on full display during the NHL team's Indigenous heritage game at home on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks.

Jennifer Taback, co-CEO of the Design de Plume creative agency in Sudbury, is originally from Shawanaga First Nation, an Anishnabek Nation.

Taback said the hockey team gave her the creative freedom to draw from her own cultural heritage when she put her own spin on the iconic Leafs logo.

"I was asked how my community shows up in the work," she said.

"How does my culture show up in work? As Ananishinaabekwe from northern Ontario, you know, that's different than someone from other parts of Canada or different communities."

Mark Fraser, Maple Leafs' director of culture and inclusion, said it was important for the organization to give Taback creative freedom.

"Who are we to dictate to an Indigenous creator and designer what particular elements it is that connects with us, where we ourselves may not be from the culture, from the community?" he told CBC Sudbury.

Fraser said it was important the Maple Leafs logo remained intact, but Taback was free to incorporate her own design in and around it.

"The logo itself is well represented with multiple different images and Indigenous iconography," he said.

Taback's take on the Maple Leafs logo features a lighter blue to represent water, which is abundant in northern Ontario's rivers and lakes. She said it's also meant to bring attention to First Nations communities that still don't have access to clean drinking water.

The maple leaf is outlined by beadwork inspired by Taback's sister, Julia.

"She's been working hard to pick up the culture to learn traditional methods of