About the RRN Logo
Terry Point (a member of the Musqueam Indian Band) and William Wasden Jr. (Wa is a member of the Kwakwaka'wakw Nation) collaborated to create the RRN logo. Both Terry and Wa were RRN interns in 2004-2005.
Terry suggested design elements based on traditional navigation and creation themes: messengers would travel by canoe to bring news to communities and invite them to gatherings; salmon, a symbol of renewal, navigate through streams and oceans, guided by the stars. These ideas allude to the RRN’s goal of facilitating community renewal and knowledge by navigating through the Internet and museum collection management systems. Wa, the artist, added his ideas: raven brought the moon, sun, fire, tides and salmon to his people.
Umel, Chief of the Ancients Raven needs to be treated carefully, because he is the all-present trickster. He has human qualities and is able to transform himself into a man; the figure in the beak represents that ability. The dorsal fin of a killer whale is depicted by the Raven’s beak with a stylized ovoid hole in it. The front seat of a sea hunter's canoe will have a hole carved in it and when the hunter dies, the seat will become his dorsal fin when he transforms into a killer whale. The human face in the beak represents the raven's human qualities as he is able to transform between forms and also connects to the sea hunter. He holds the messenger canoe in his mouth, upside down. This refers to people saving young salmon caught in a river with low water levels by placing them in a canoe and dumping them into another river, the salmon would survive and colonize the new stream. In the centre of the canoe is a box of treasures, representing the knowledge being returned to the communities through the RRN. The salmon in the logo are wild, indicated by the presence of the adipose fins; the male is depicted above the female as if in spawning position and both their tailfins continue as negative space along the design of the raven. There are four stars with four points each, because four is a sacred number. The colour is Reckett's Blue – a laundry blueing agent introduced to the Northwest Coast and quickly adopted as a paint. Wa has observed that this particular blue shade is used in art around the world and seems to have close representational associations with the supernatural.
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