Collaborating with the Roughriders has been “surreal” for Indigenous entrepreneur/artist Christine Marie

Christine Marie excitedly awaits a Saskatchewan Roughriders home game that will once again be a showcase for her seemingly limitless creative side. 

On Oct. 29, 2016, she sang the national anthem before the final CFL game at historic Mosaic Stadium. 

On Saturday, her artistic talents will be accentuated when the Roughriders play host to the Calgary Stampeders during the Green and White’s second annual kisiskâciwan Game — a celebration of Indigenous cultures in our province. 

Marie, who is of Metis and Filipino heritage, designed the logo for the game. 

“It’s surreal,” she says. “I’ve had some incredible opportunities over the last few years and I’ve really tried to process it in, soak it in, and just stay grateful. 

“I know that opportunities sometimes only come your way once. It happened and then it was confirmed and then it was like, ‘What?!’ 

“When I told my family members, who are diehard Rider fans, they were just overjoyed. I’m so pumped but it’s still sinking in.” 

Marie was contacted in June — National Indigenous History Month — by Jacqueline Hurlbert, who is the Roughriders’ Director, Marketing and Fan Engagement. 

The team was looking for a designer with whom to collaborate for the kisiskâciwan Game and, before too long, an arrangement was made. 

“The first person I thought of was my late aunt,” Marie says. “She was like a mom to me growing up and we got quite close over the years.  

“Unfortunately, she passed away from cancer seven years ago, but we were there the last 18 months of her life on Rider game nights in green gear. We brought food and we made the most of it. 

“Of course, when this happened, she came to mind right away. I thought, ‘I wish I could call her right now and just hear her shouting Go Riders in the background.’ ” 

Marie heard the applause of 33,427 people after performing O Canada at the old stadium. She has since performed the anthem at the new facility, where her designs are to be prominently displayed this weekend. 

Marie has done two sets of artwork — one that is to be used on T-shirts that are to be distributed to fans, and another for the Roughriders’ social-media graphics and in-game presentation. Her work will be displayed on the MaxTron and the ribbon boards. 

It all adds up to another landmark event for Marie, who has operated an e-commerce outlet — Awasis Boutique, of which she is the founder and CEO — since February of 2018. 

Awasis is Cree for “child.” 

At the time Awasis Boutique was launched, Marie was taking time off from a career in teaching to be a stay-at-home mother. 

She had taught for three years after receiving a Bachelor of Education degree with honours from the University of Saskatchewan, where she majored in Home Economics and Native Studies. 

While at home with her two sons, she supported other moms by sewing bibs and aprons and, before too long, there was a steady stream of orders. 

Her interest piqued, she did some research and concluded that there was a void in Western Canada as far as a fashion line for Indigenous-inspired fashions for babies and children. 

Since then, Marie has established partnerships with Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Shop USask, Ready Set Baby and other businesses while expanding her designs to include people of all ages. 

Along the way, Marie has received various awards for and acknowledgements of her contributions to Indigenous culture and the community as a whole. 

“It’s so much more than a product,” says Marie, 38. “It’s changing that representation in the retail industry, especially knowing what it was like growing up in Saskatoon and feeling so ashamed of my skin colour and my background and being scared to identify.  

“It wasn’t until I was 19, when I was in university, that I truly was like, ‘Wait a second. I need to be proud of who I am. I have to change this. I’ve got to change this mindset and then help all these other little ones to have their mindsets changed, too.’ The mindset should be, ‘Wait a second. I can do things. I am worthy. I can be proud of who I am.’ 

“There’s all of that behind what I do. It’s life-changing. We only have that one shot here on Earth, so it comes down to, ‘What kind of legacy and what kind of impact do I want to leave?’ It’s about changing the game and forging a path for generations to come.”