What Inspired Talented U of Montana Graduate’s New Nike N7 Logo?
The N7 initiative lives on. And so does the passion of another Montana Native American to create a new design with fascinating symbolism.
UM News Service tells us that Kaylene Big Knife, a University of Montana alumna from the Chippewa Cree Tribe, will have her creative logo appear on the University of Montana men's and Lady Griz basketball teams' shooting shirts during games this season in the Adams Center. The Griz and Lady Griz also will once again wear turquoise Nike uniforms, a color of great significance to many Indigenous cultures.
Kaylene grew up in the hills of the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation in north central Montana. Fond memories include playing with childhood friends among the sagebrush buttercups, picking juneberries and sledding down hills. She applies those inspirations to her craft, a professional graphic designer and digital illustrator.
Kaylene specializes in floral art, especially Montana flowers like the sagebrush buttercups from her hometown, which are also tattooed on her arms. She points out that, "Buttercups are really meaningful to me because in Rocky Boy I spent most of my life at my grandma's house in an area called Upper Buttercup. And my mom moved down to a house in Lower Buttercup."
So buttercups and more it is, thanks to the continuation of Nike's partnership with the Griz and Montana Native tribes.
Kaylene's design has other meaningful elements besides the sagebrush buttercups. Her logo also features Chippewa blossoms, a special flower for her tribe, and field chickweeds that are found in Missoula near the UM campus. In her tribes' artistic traditions, many leaves are drawn to look like they are on fire, which influenced how she drew the leaves around the Griz cursive script logo.
WHERE TO GET YOURS
Officially licensed Nike T-shirts and hoodies with Kaylene Big Knife's logo already are available for sale at the Go Griz Store, Scheels and the M Store, all in Missoula. The stores are also selling other merchandise with the logo including hats, beanies, pint glasses, mugs, tumblers and bags.
Licensing proceeds benefit UM's Kyiyo Pow Wow, one of the nation's oldest student-run powwows.
Kaylene, who now lives in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, visited UM when the merchandise was released and saw her design. In her words, "Walking into the UM bookstore and seeing it on the shelves was a very monumental moment in my career.
