The newest series of National Hockey League collector cards shines a light on Indigenous players. The Upper Deck company this month released First Peoples Rookie Cards featuring Canadian Indigenous players who weren’t previously featured in an official NHL set.
The idea came from a card collector who said eight Indigenous players who were originally in the NHL were missing and needed to be acknowledged. One of the players included in the new set is Bill LeCaine, Wood Mountain Lakota Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux. He was one of the first Native American players to enter the NHL in 1968.
The cards were designed by Jacob Alexis, an artist from Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation in Alberta. They won't be for sale but instead will be distributed for free at camps and other First Nations hockey events throughout Canada.