Musqueam Indian Band celebrates Gino Odjick’s life

Gino Odjick’s life was celebrated in a ceremony hosted by the Musqueam Indian Band Saturday afternoon.

Musqueam Chief Wayne Sparrow acknowledged those who were present as people who each had a special meaning to Odjick.

“One of his requests was to have a celebration of life here in Musqueam, that he called his second home,” Sparrow said.

Members of the Musqueam Indian Band shared their love for Odjick, and even the Chief wanted to talk about the friendship he built with Odjick.

“It’s such a privilege and honour to stand in front of each and every one of you not as an elected Chief of Musqeum but as a friend, as a brother.”

Before sharing a paddle song to honour Odjick’s journey, Musqueam’s Carl Point remembered Odjick’s influence on him and his peers while growing up.
“Gino gave a lot of us Rez kids someone to look up to. When a lot of our friends were wanting to be Trevor Linden and Pavel Bure, here on the Rez we wanted to be like Gino. He was the man for us,” Point said.

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Members from different aspects of Odjick’s life also shared their memories and love for the beloved Canucks enforcer.

“He was a true warrior, he didn’t see himself as a legend but today he is a true legend without a doubt,” Peter Leech, Odjick’s friend, said. Leech’s children dedicated poems to their beloved Uncle Gino.

Vancouver Canucks Alumni Geoff Courtnall remembered Gino as one of his favourite teamates.

“I think that Gino was a leader and he did it in probably the greatest ways not only in the room being such a fun positive guy but on the ice, probably the greatest protector that I’ve played with and he knew how to do his job better than everybody,” Courtnall said.

Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council’s Grand Chief Savannah McGregor also attended the ceremony.

Odjick was born in an Algonquin Nature Reserve just outside of Maniwaki, Quebec. He was seen by many in the First Nations community as someone to look up to.

During his time with the Vancouver Canucks, Odjick was known for sticking up for his teammates. Odjick was 52.