Hollywood Actor Johnny Depp was Gifted Wolastoq T Shirt from New Brunswick
Bethany Tremblay had VIP tickets to Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp’s concert in Toronto and she knew exactly what she wanted to do when she met them.
“I’m going to bring Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp T-shirts that have my tribe’s name on it or logo,” Bethany Tremblay said.
Tremblay, whose spiritual name is Nipayiw Monoqan, is from Neqotkuk (Tobique) First Nation and her father is Wolastoq Grand Chief Ron Tremblay. He gifted her some T-shirts, one that has a particular significance to New Brunswick’s longest river.
That River is the St. John River, originally known as the Wolastoq.
The T-shirt was designed by Indigenous artist Shelley Solomon. It is the word Wolastoq in white, with the St. John River crossed out below it and a canoe and paddle above it, encompassed in a blue circle.
In a video, Tremblay presents the T-shirt to Depp, who can be heard learning to pronounce Wolastoq and describing the design as beautiful. He hugged her at the end of the video, which has gone viral on Facebook.
“It’s a traditional custom to give thanks and to never come up empty-handed, especially when someone is transferring their energy with you,” Bethany Tremblay said from New York. “The experience was amazing.”
Tremblay was able to speak with Jeff Beck over the course of a couple of hours and meet Depp backstage.
It wasn’t until the next morning that she got the photo of Johny Depp donning the T-shirt.
“To be seen, to be heard, to feel that genuine interest from them,” Bethany Tremblay said. “People are waking up and starting to realize that it’s time for a change. It’s time for Indigenous people to reclaim the original names of things as well as (being) able to celebrate the customs.”
News source @GlobalNews
