ELORA – While other banners representing the history of sports teams in Elora will be reinstalled at the Jefferson Elora Community Centre (JECC), banners for the Elora Mohawks Junior ‘B’ lacrosse team will not go up until the township develops a policy on Indigenous-themed sports logos at township facilities.
Work is underway to develop that policy, managing director of community services Pat Newson told Centre Wellington council at its July 15 meeting.
But the work is necessarily slow, she said, as the township works to develop a policy with input from the diversity, equity and inclusion advisory committee, representatives of the Elora Mohawks, and an Indigenous group called Grandmother’s Voice, which shares Indigenous teachings and culture to the broader community to enhance capacity and illuminate how team names, for example, can cause harm and exclusion to Indigenous people.
Newson said the township received a letter from the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) in 2019 alerting municipalities to the harmful impact of Indigenous-themed sports logos in municipal facilities.
“The OHRC urges the Township of Centre Wellington to take the first step in removing barriers to participation for Indigenous peoples by collaborating with diverse Indigenous communities to develop a policy on the use of Indigenous-themed logos and names in their sports facilities and arenas,” the letter states.
ELORA MOHAWKS LOGO
The Elora Mohawks were identified as a non-Indigenous sports organization using an Indigenous-themed name and logo.
Newson said COVID-19 delayed progress on the file and all banners came down at the JECC for renovations of the facility.
Now sports groups want their banners reinstalled, Newson said, which is fine for all but the Elora Mohawks.
Newson noted the Centre Wellington Minor Lacrosse Association changed its name from the Mohawks to the Riverhawks in 2022.
Only the Elora Jr. B lacrosse team continues to use the Mohawks name and logo.
While the township has no jurisdiction over naming teams, it does have control over what is displayed at township facilities, Newson wrote in her report.
“The work on this is in progress, and it takes time to collaborate with all parties, to listen, to learn, and to know how to respectfully move forward in regard to the Indigenous-themed logos, in order to create a policy.”
Newson suggested progress on the work should be communicated to the broader community on the Connect CW website.
Councillor Jennifer Adams noted lacrosse is an Indigenous sport and there could also be opportunity to tell that history, “to know the roots of the sport.”
Newson could not predict a timeline on the new township policy.
“With this kind of work … we have to let the process set the path,” she said, adding it should be possible to do with the $3,000 budget set aside for the work.
Council agreed to continue work on the policy, to provide updates at connectcw.ca and to allow reinstallation of banners at the JECC for all but the Elora Mohawks.
Team officials did not respond by press time to an Advertiser request for comment.
