Bryan Trottier Featured on Canada Post Indigenous Leaders Stamps
Hockey Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier, Chief Wilton Littlechild, and Edward Lennie are honoured on new Canada Post stamps celebrating Indigenous sport leaders.
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Canada Post is honouring Indigenous leaders in sport with a new stamp series, featuring Hockey Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier, Chief Wilton Littlechild, and Edward Lennie.
The stamps were unveiled Wednesday at the Calgary Public Library as part of Canada Post's Indigenous leaders stamp series, which began in 2022 to highlight the contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people who have preserved their culture and improved quality of life for Indigenous Peoples of Canada.
Trottier, 69, is from Val Marie, Saskatchewan, and is the all-time leader in points and assists for the New York Islanders. As a player, he won six Stanley Cups—four with the Islanders and two with the Pittsburgh Penguins—and later earned a seventh Cup as an assistant coach of the Colorado Avalanche in 2001. Trottier, who is Cree, Métis, Chippewa, and Irish, co-founded the Aboriginal Alumni Hockey Team, which has played games, offered clinics, and provided mentorship to young people across Canada.
Littlechild, from Maskwacis, Alberta, is a former member of Parliament and commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. He helped found the National Indian Athletic Association, the North American Indigenous Games, and the World Indigenous Nations Games.
Lennie, from Inuvik, died in 2020 at age 86. He helped found the Northern Games and preserve Arctic sports, coaching athletes in traditional events such as the kneel jump, the high kick, and the arm pull.
Each man's portrait and their contribution are depicted in the stamp designs. Lennie's portrait is paired with an image of the high kick set against an Arctic landscape. Littlechild appears in his signature cowboy hat beside young athletes running over Alberta's rolling hills. Trottier's portrait of a focused NHL player is matched with a triumphant image of him hoisting the Stanley Cup.
Trottier said he hopes the stamps inspire Indigenous youth to dream big. "You can dream about playing the NHL, scoring goals, winning the Stanley Cup. You don't dream about getting your face on a Canadian stamp," he said. "The fact that they're recognizing the Indigenous aspect of my heritage, I think, is really awesome. Hopefully it inspires generations of Indigenous kids out there that have dreams of achieving something fun, whether it's in sport or art or music or whatever their dreams are."
The stamps will be available at select Canada Post outlets starting Friday.