Walking Together: Engaging in Reconciliation alongside the Winnipeg Jets

A few of Winnipeg’s biggest voices in Indigenous Reconciliation were recently welcomed to the Asper School of Business for an event from the James W. Burns Leadership Institute.

"Walking Together: Reconciliation and the Winnipeg Jets" was the first in the Burns Institute’s 2026 critical issues series Leadership in our Times. 

Anne Mahon, Leader-in-Residence of the Burns Institute and UM Chancellor Emeritus, developed and led the discussion between Annie Chipman, Vice President of Marketing for the Winnipeg Jets at True North Sports + Entertainment (TNSE), and Kevin Chief, Senior Advisor at TNSE and Community Ambassador for the Southern Chiefs’ Organization.

“The Winnipeg Jets represent Manitoba on a worldwide scale, and seeing how they are bringing impactful, prominent practices for reconciliation into the mainstream of professional hockey is truly inspiring,” said Suzanne Gagnon, Asper Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Research Programs and Director of the Burns Leadership Institute. 

“We are grateful to Chancellor Emeritus Mahon and to Kevin and Annie for creating this inspiring event for the UM community," said Dr. Gagnon.

Asper Professor Lukas Neville, the event MC, noted: “This discussion showed that there are incredible lessons to be learned along the road to sincere relationships between businesses and Indigenous communities, and we’re proud to offer the Jets’ behind-the-scenes story to attendees.”
 

Reconciliation and the Winnipeg Jets

One of the first instances of the Winnipeg Jets’ innovative Indigenous Reconciliation efforts started after a game in which the Jets played the Chicago Blackhawks. 

During the game, a Chicago fan showed up to the arena in a false headdress that echoed the Blackhawks logo. At the time, no NHL team had a policy against fans wearing fake headdresses.

Executive Chairman & Governor of the Winnipeg Jets, Mark Chipman, connected and consulted with some of Manitoba’s top Indigenous voices led by Kevin Chief—and the Jets became the first NHL team to ban the deeply offensive gear in their arena. 

For the past eight seasons, the Jets have hosted an annual Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre (WASAC) night. This game is an evening celebrating Indigenous culture and welcoming Indigenous youth from northern and remote communities. 

In the 2020 edition of the game, the Jets made history when they welcomed Riverbend School’s Strong Warrior Girls Anishinaabe Singers to sing O Canada in Ojibwe (Anishinaabemowin), the first time ever for a professional sports event.

This year, TNSE partnered with the Indigenous culinary community to offer Indigenous inspired cuisine at the game; joining the Indigenous singers and artists who perform the national anthem and intermission entertainment. 

Each year for WASAC night, Cree designer Leticia Spence creates Indigenized logos for Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose specialty warmup jerseys—which are auctioned off after the game to raise money for WASAC programming. 

These designs, printed in limited-edition clothing lines, are a powerful sight and symbol of Reconciliation commonly seen around Winnipeg. 
 

Reflecting on Critcal Issues

As she looked back on the Leadership in our Times event, Anne Mahon spoke about how business leaders across Manitoba can learn from True North Sports and Entertainment. “Reconciliation is built on relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Not transactional ‘let's get this done’ relationships, but ones that come from a sincere desire to work and walk together,” Mahon said.

“When time is taken, and there is sharing and listening, then the act of Reconciliation is authentic and built on trust. That trust is essential. Then, Reconciliation is an act of inclusion and love. This has been at the heart of Reconciliation for True North Sports + Entertainment and The Winnipeg Jets,” she said.