CN Centre is the place to be this weekend to see firsthand how hockey and our region’s rich history of Indigenous culture and artistic traditions go hand in hand.
The Prince George Cougars Indigenous Weekend will pack hockey fans in the rink with near-capacity crowds expected for their two Western Hockey League home games, Friday against the Brandon Wheat Kings and Saturday against the Kamloops Blazers.
After years of having a single-game promotion built around an Indigenous theme, the Cougars recognized the popularity of the event and have extended it to two games.
“The Cougars always talk about being part of the fabric of the community and first nations residents here in Prince George and surrounding areas, whether they’re diligent fans coming to us every night as season members or if they never come to games, we want to give them something to come to the rink and celebrate the Cougars and celebrate with each other,” said Cougars director of business Taylor Dakers.
“We’re trying to provide entertainment in the north and we’re trying to make them proud of the Cougars and the north and the First Nations community is a big part of that. Our job as a business is to sell tickets and it certainly does that too and that’s why we’ve expanded it to a weekend instead of a single game. So for us it checks all the boxes of what we’re trying to do here.”
Attendance at Cougars games is up 23 per cent over last year at this time. Crowds so far this season have averaged 3,980, up from a 3,250 average as of Jan. 20, 2024.
“We’re expecting, as long as we put wins on the board over the next two months, attendance will increase as well,” said Dakers.
The Cougar players will be wearing jerseys emblazoned with a unique intricate character designed by Dakelh artist Kobe Antoine of the Lake Babine Nation near Burns Lake.
The team’s game-worn jerseys and socks will be available for bidders in an online auction through the Cougars website.
The online auction started today and will continue through next Thursday.
Already, Koehn Ziemmer’s No. 13 jersey has fetched a $2,500 bid. A buy-now option is available for fans who want to meet a set threshold price on any jersey that’s still up for bids.
During each game night there will also be a silent auction set up near Section R in the concourse where fans can bid on game-worn jerseys.
A table will be set up near the front doors of the rink and for a $5 ticket you can enter the draw for one of the jerseys.
Musicians and dancers from the host Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, as well as the Babine Lake, Takla, Nadleh Whut’en, Stellat'en and Gitxsan nations will be there before, during and after the games to entertain the fans.
The CN Centre concourse will be turned into an Indigenous arts and crafts marketplace for paintings, beadwork and clothing hand-made by exceptionally talented artisans.
“By doubling the celebration weekend we doubled the ability of people to come and watch the game and in this case for two different opponents, which is awesome, and we also doubled the ability to put the performers in front of people,” said Dakers.
“Takla First Nation is making the trip and they’ve got some kids to do some drumming at the entry doors. They haven’t been involved the past couple years, they’re pretty far away, six hours.
“The anthem (on Friday) will be sung by two elementary schools (Harwin and Nusdeh Yoh) and they’ll sing in Dakelh, which is very cool - a little bit more exposure to that language and the culture.”
The Nadleh (Fraser Lake) and Stellat’en (Stellako) Traditional Performers will be featured during the second intermission Friday and the Khast’An Drummers will deliver a post-game performance on the ice after the game.
On Saturday, Marissa Crouse of the Lake Babine nation will sing O Canada. Lheidli T’enneh musician/artist/author Kym Goochie, who designed last year's Indigenous Cougar jersey, will provide the first intermission entertainment.
An extended second intermission will feature the Northern Spirit/Thundering Eagles/Kwanta Mountain Drummers of Quesnel.
“It’s a very powerful pow-wow dance, I don’t know if I’ve seen any performances that can match it,” said Dakers.
After Saturday’s game, the Gitxsan All-Clans Dancers of Hazelton/Kispiox/Kitwanga will give fans a reason to stick around and wait for traffic leaving the parking lots to subside.
“Our friend Robert Sebastian, a very well-known artist and performer from Hazelton has a group from Gitxsan First Nation and what he has planned is something cool and unique,” said Dakers. “We’ve never had anything like that on our ice surface before so we’re naturally looking forward to that.”
Cougars players will also gather in the concourse for an autograph session after Saturday’s game.
Prince George Cougars
Indigenous Weekend
Friday
- Brandon Wheat Kings vs. Cougars, 7 p.m., CN Centre
Entertainment lineup
- Pre-game: Takla First Nation Drummers – 5:30 p.m. (front doors of CN Centre)
- National anthem: Harwin Elementary and Nusdeh Yoh Elementary
- First intermission: Stellat'en vs Nadleh Whut’en hockey exhibition
- Second intermission: Nadleh and Stellat’en Traditional Performers
- Post-game (on-ice): Khast'an Drummers
Saturday
- Kamloops Blazers vs. Cougars, 6 p.m. CN Centre
Entertainment lineup
- National anthem: Marissa Crouse of Lake Babine First Nation
- First intermission: Kym Gouchie of Lheidli T’enneh First Nation
- Second intermission: Northern Spirit/ Thundering Eagles/Kwanta Mountain Drummers
- Post-game (on-ice): Gitxsan All-Clans Dancers
- Post-game (concourse): Cougars team autographs
