Symbols play an important role in Indigenous cultures across Canada. They serve as visual markers, connecting individuals and communities, collective traditions and ancestral wisdom. They are powerful tools that convey cultural identity and foster a sense of empowerment and resilience.
As we mark the end of Indigenous Disability Awareness Month 2023, CLBC’s Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC) is proud to officially share its logo, a symbol that honours the committee’s past and will represent it into the future.
Since its creation in 2012, the IAC has made vital contributions to supporting CLBC’s vision of “Communities of belonging, lives with connection” for Indigenous individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, and to guiding CLBC’s work towards reconciliation.
Made up of Indigenous individuals, families and community members from across B.C., the IAC meets quarterly to provide advice, share information and identify strategies to best provide culturally safe and relevant services to Indigenous individuals and their families. The committee’s input helps to enhance relationships between CLBC and First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, a key goal of CLBC’s strategic plan.
Earlier this year, the role of the IAC was formally included in the Community Living Authority Act (CLAA), the provincial law that governs CLBC. This ensures CLBC’s Board of Directors will continue to be guided by Indigenous voices and perspectives.
To establish its new visual identity, the IAC worked with Northwest Coast artist Shawna Kiesman. A graduate of the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Arts and the Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Shawna was born in Prince Rupert and raised in Victoria. Her mother is Tsimshian/Nisga’a and her father is Haida/German.
In the logo that Shawna has created, each of the elements holds an important meaning. The raven symbolizes the creation of a new path, transformation of the old one, knowledge of the past and the truth to move forward. The person inside the raven represents the IAC’s person-centered focus and dedication to its work within CLBC. The symbols between the wings of the raven recognize the three distinct groups of Indigenous people in B.C. – from left to right, the Inuit are represented by the inuksuk, First Nations are represented by the feather, and the Métis are represented by the infinity symbol. The colours of blue and green mirror CLBC’s logo and represent the connection to CLBC.
“We all need to belong. We all need to see ourselves in the world that surrounds us. We need to know that our role is wanted, respected and valued. This is what inclusion means,” says Neil Belanger, IAC Chair and CEO of the BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society. “The support for, and incorporation of, the new Indigenous Advisory Committee logo is another positive step forward by CLBC as it continues its journey forward. Today, and in generations to come, Indigenous peoples will see this logo and know that they are not only part of CLBC and welcomed, but will be forever instrumental in its ongoing success.”
“The logo represents a renewal of the relationship between the Indigenous Advisory Committee and Community Living BC and is an important step in their efforts to advance Reconciliation for people living with diverse abilities,” says Joanne Mills, CLBC’s Vice President, Quality Services and Indigenous Relations. “I invite the community to join us in celebrating the launch of the Indigenous Advisory Committee logo.”
