A stick with a story: Meadow Lake man hopes to raise awareness of ‘Dark era’

By Julia Lovett-Squires

A hockey stick with the potential to start a conversation and help heal a dark past is inspiring the country one slapshot at a time.

The Every Child Matters stick became a possibility when Clay DeBray, originally from Duck Lake, was sitting at his desk one day.

“It was coming up to Sept. 30 and the business that I manage here, Snipe and Celly Sports Excellence, we make thousands of orange T-shirts for different organizations,” he said.

DeBray explained that he was thinking of other ways to support the Orange Movement and as he began doodling on his notepad, images began to appear. With the collaboration of Elder Eugene Arcand of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, the ECM hockey stick materialized.

“I thought, ‘Maybe if I created a hockey stick with a story and symbols to share the awareness of our residential school dark era,’ ” DeBray said.

Every stick features images and they all tell a story.

“It’s been overwhelming with the support and the symbols on there … representing different stories that have been told from elders and survivors,” he said.

The stick is being sold at Snipe and Celly on the Flying Dust First Nation since it was released just prior to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day.

One such image is a teardrop, a visual that invokes memories of survivors who were unable to share their emotions.

“They were punished if they were to shed tears,” he said.

DeBray also incorporated four hands in different skin tones on the stick to provide a lesson that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, everyone needs to “give a hand to share this awareness and bring the truth out.”

Other symbols include the Métis sash, which acknowledges the Métis citizens who attended the schools, and a teddy bear, which represents the loss of innocence.

“When the children were apprehended and brought to these institutions, they weren’t allowed to bring any toys and they weren’t provided any toys or Teddy Bears while they were at the institution,” DeBray said.

That memory has never left those who walked away. DeBray said that to this day, his elder and mentor sleeps with a teddy.

“It brings that comfort and joy to him now,” DeBray said.

Other images on the stick include a turtle with a medicine wheel on its shell to represent Turtle Island (North America) while living holistically and an eagle’s feather resting on the blade.

“In the Plains-Cree culture, the eagle is so significant and it’s significant because it’s the closest to our Creator,” he said.

“When somebody uses the stick and they score a goal, usually they lift the stick in celebration and when that stick is lifted, that eagle feather will be closest to our Creator and our Creator will send blessings down through the stick to the individual using it.”

The stick has already proven its power. DeBray explained that the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars went to play the Melville Millionaires, for whom his son plays.

“Before they received them, his teammates were asking him all about the stick, like what kind of stick, like what’s it about, and I was pretty proud that my son was able to tell the story,” DeBray said.

So far, they’ve had 2,500 sticks shipped out across the Sports Excellence franchise and they’re selling fast. All the proceeds go towards three organizations including the Orange T-shirt Society, the Truth and Reconciliation Centre, and the Saskatchewan Survivors Circle.

“There’ll be $60,000 being donated to those three,” he said.

They’ve also developed a nationwide following including support from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

“There are people that have been sending me pictures across Canada that are using the stick, and it brings a sense of pride and joy that they’re sharing the awareness,” said DeBray.

Given the success of the first stick, a second one for next year is in the works though the symbols will remain.

“It’ll just have a new design,” he said.

Anyone interested in purchasing a stick can contact Snipe and Celly’s at 1-306-236-4201 or the Flying Dust First Nation at 1-306-236-4437.

The senior and intermediate sticks cost $199 and the junior sticks cost $149.

The stick itself has a dark black base and an orange hologram shines out to illuminate the growing awareness and support of the movement amid the dark history.