Canada Post is proud to recognize award-winning athletes and advocates who championed Indigenous sports, leaving legacies that extend far beyond the winners' podium. The fifth set in this series was launched in honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day, featuring a three-stamp issue unveiled today at the Calgary Public Library – Central with Chief Wilton Littlechild, Edward Lennie's son Hans Lennie, and a video message from Bryan Trottier.
Bryan Trottier
Six-time Stanley Cup winner and member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, Bryan Trottier (b. 1956 in Val Marie, Saskatchewan) is widely regarded as one of hockey's greats. Drafted by the New York Islanders in 1974, Trottier won five major National Hockey League honours, including league and playoffs Most Valuable Player, and remains the Islanders' all-time leader in points and assists. Trottier – who is Cree, Métis, Chippewa and Irish – co-founded the Aboriginal Alumni Hockey Team and has visited communities across Canada, offering clinics and mentorship to young people.
Edward Lennie
Known as the Father of the Northern Games, Charles Edward Inglangasak Lennie (1934-2020) dedicated his life to promoting and preserving Arctic sports. He helped found the Northern Games and successfully advocated for Arctic sports to be showcased at the inaugural Arctic Winter Games. Lennie coached athletes in eight traditional events, including the kneel jump, the two-foot high kick and the arm pull.
Chief Wilton Littlechild
A former member of Parliament and commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Jacob Wilton “Willie” Littlechild, c.c. (b. 1944 in Hobbema [Maskwacis], Alberta) helped draft the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to secure Indigenous rights, including treaty rights, in Canada's constitution. Inducted into several sports halls of fame, he worked to establish the National Indian Athletic Association, the North American Indigenous Games and the World Indigenous Nations Games.
About the Stamp Series
Launched in 2022, the series highlights the contributions of modern-day First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders who have dedicated their lives to preserving their culture and improving the quality of life of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Honourees represent First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities from different regions of the country and are chosen in consultation with the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.
About the Stamps
The stamp designs pair powerful portraiture with evocative landscapes and imagery tied to each honouree's life: Trottier's focused gaze contrasts with a photo of him proudly lifting the Stanley Cup, framed by a prairie landscape that anchors his success to his Saskatchewan roots; Lennie's dignified portrait is paired with an image of the one-foot high kick set against a sweeping Arctic landscape, reflecting his heritage and the traditions he championed; Chief Littlechild appears in his signature cowboy hat beside young athletes with Alberta's rolling hills behind him, highlighting both his homeland and impact on future generations.
