Designed by local aboriginal artist Jen Pighin, the medals to be awarded during the Canada Winter Games were unveiled Friday morning.
The Canada Games floating maple leaf logo on one side shows their significance but what's on the other side of the medals makes them memorable.
The stylized paw print of a wolf, worked up in a First Nations motif, is at the centre.
"It signifies how wolves work as a pack or as a team," Pighin told a throng of media and dignitaries. "Each athlete, likewise, relies on their team to get where they are. They have families, coaches and fans that help them on that team."
The paw print also plays on the Games' phrase "leave your tracks" and represents the lasting memories athletes will take away from the Games and the lasting impact they will have had on Prince George and the region.
The Games are being held in the traditional territories of the Lheidli T'enneh and Dakelh First Nations. Dakelh means "people who travel by boat or by water," said Pighin, and to honour that, an image depicting a dugout canoe is placed below the paw print.
And around the edges are triangles to reflect the Canada Winter Games branding of mountains and trees.
All 1,300 medals will be presented in moose hide satchels assembled mostly by Lheidli T'enneh elders in the lead up to the Games.
The medals, which were made using gold, silver and bronze is provided by mining company Teck Resources Ltd., will also be on display at the Two Rivers Gallery.
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