Edmonton-based Indigenous artist to join 2025 TWS conference

In the Cree or Nehiyaw language, the name for Edmonton is amiskwaciwâskahikan, which means beaver hills house. The logo for this year’s TWS Annual Conference, which will take place in Edmonton in October, features the animal that gave Edmonton its Cree name.

 “To honor the name we use for Edmonton, I chose the animal representation to be our cousin Beaver,” said Dusty LeGrande, a Cree artist and founder of the Edmonton-based streetwear brand Mobilize.

In LeGrande’s design, the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is filled with syllabics from the Cree language called spirit markers. Meanwhile, the letters in the text part of the logo spell amiskwaciwâskahikan. “We are taught that our people and our language originate in the stars and that we are ever connected to the celestial realm through our spirits and our ancestors,” LeGrande said.

Dusty LeGrande has lived in Edmonton since he was a teenager. His favorite part of the city is the North Saskatchewan River, which flows through downtown Edmonton.

“Historically, that river was the meeting point for Indigenous people,” he said. The Cree, Saulteaux, Soto, Dene, Anishinaabe and Blackfeet people all shared the land. The river was an annual gathering place for ceremonies, meetings and celebrations. The beaver also ties in with the significance of the river as an ecosystem engineer. “It is a teaching we have that the natural world knows how to take care of itself, and we, as humans, have a lot to learn,” he said. The color choice and layout were also significant. Red, yellow, blue and white represent the four directions for the Cree, and the arched text represents the “hills house.”

LeGrande refers to himself as a “baby speaker” of the Cree language and learns from his mother, who is a native Cree speaker and musician who LeGrande often collaborates with. Although LeGrande didn’t grow up speaking Cree, his mother—and every generation before hers—learned Cree as their first language. “I was in the generation where the trickle-down of the residential schooling system was very intentional in taking our culture and language,” he said.

Revitalization of the Cree language is an important part of LeGrande’s relearning of, and engagement with, his culture. Each spirit maker portrays a unique sound. “All of the words in Cree are description words,” LeGrande said. “So, when you’re learning the language, you’re not just learning sounds; you’re learning stories and teachings along with it.”

At the 2025 TWS Annual Conference in Edmonton, LeGrande will be on-site for a screen-printing experience so that he can share the story behind the conference logo as well as the importance of sustainable fashion. Instead of mass-producing T-shirts for the conference, each piece will be created on an as-needed basis, which LeGrande said will give the items more meaning.

“As an artist, it’s not just about making money, but it’s about the stories that are being told,” LeGrande said. “The work that I do artistically and the work that TWS does are in line in that way,” he said.