Cougars have roamed the land of the central Interior that surrounds Prince George for hundreds of years, so it’s only fitting the name of the city’s Western Hockey League team represents that long history.
In Carrier, the Northern Athabaskan language named after the Dakelh people and still spoken by Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, cougars are known as booscho.
An artistic rendering of one of those big cats is emblazoned on the Kym Gouchie-designed jersey the Cougars will wear next Saturday at the team’s second annual Indigenous Night at CN Centre when they play the Portland Winterhawks.
The cougar head and its fixated stare is bordered by eagle feathers, which suggest strength and respect.
Around the waistband of the jersey and on their hockey socks are fishbones, which represent the DNA of salmon and the treetops of our forests, while the armband features the syllabic form of the word booscho.
“All of the design components honour our relationship with the land and each other,” said Gouchie, a Lheidli T’enneh artist and musician.
Sponsored by Four Rivers Co-op and the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, fans will be entertained during the game intermissions by drummers and dance performances on the ice and in the concourse. There’s also a guaranteed $20,000 50-50 jackpot.
Following the game, the Cougars will gather in the concourse to meet and greet the fans in an autograph session.
The specialty jerseys worn that night by the players will be available through an online auction that ends Jan. 28 at midnight.
The Cougars, 5-2 winners Friday over the Kelowna Rockets, will take on the Rockets again tonight (6 p.m.).
