At last week’s Curyung Native Youth Olympics home meet, athletes competed in 10 events across two days. The home team all sported white t-shirt jerseys with a mask that is half-smiling, half-frowning on the front. Text circles the mask and reads, "Joining our traditions with today’s innovations creates tomorrow’s success."
Bailee Olson, a ninth grader and the Curyung team manager, drew the design to represent a balance between traditional and modern practices.
“We also use the Curyung Tribe colors on it to represent more of our culture and stuff,” she said. “And then we did the split face, the frown for the males, like to represent boys on our team and the smile for the females to represent our girls.”
Graelin Chaney, a sophomore, said the split face isn’t just a design choice.
“That just stands for equality on the team, which is a big part of Dillingham and our team,” he said.
Olson got feedback from the rest of the team before she created the border design. She said it represents their accomplishments throughout life.
The team leaves for the three-day state championships in Anchorage on Wednesday. As they compete, cheer and receive awards, they’ll wear the new design on their uniforms. The team’s banner will also feature the mask.
Get in touch with the author at christina@kdlg.org.
