Materials

Description

11 unique Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation patches mounted on a white background with a wooden frame. Square plaque at the bottom centre reads “The Right Hon. John G. Deifenbaker ‘A True Outdoorsman and a Friend to Wildlife’ Presented on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation Saskatoon, February 1979." 

The wooden frame is a light brown in colour with visible wood grain embellished with flecks of black, the border is bevelled inwards. The display is held in from the back with a plain piece of white cardboard secured with 12 small nails distributed evenly around the border. There is one screw eye hook on either side of the back of the frame with a metal wire connecting them for the purpose of hanging. 

The patches and plaque on the front are mounted on a white background and covered with a pane of glass. Nine of the patches are displayed in a downward facing horseshoe shape Anti-clockwise the first and last three sets of patches are almost identical, semi-oval in shape with a black background and white lettering. In the centre of each a different animal is depicted within a yellow circle (Reference Marks/Labels/Inscription). Region 3 depicts two ducks in flight. Region 2 depicts a moose in profile. Region 1 depicts caribou in profile. Region 6 depicts a deer in profile. Region 5 depicts three Canadian Geese. Region 4 depicts a deer in profile. The patch at the top in the centre is green with a red border and it contains the “Conservation Pledge.” The patch to its left is light blue in colour with a dark blue border, it depicts a duck in flight in the centre with its wings outstretched. To the left of the Conservation Pledge is another circular patch with a thick black border and a gold centre where there is a bird in flight. The central and largest patch reads "Don's Shoot the Whooper" in stylized red lettering which surrounds a Whooper Swan in flight surrounded by greenery. The bottom reads “Sask Wildlife Federation” in yellow lettering. Below this patch is another semi-oval patch which is black with a gold border it reads “Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation” in white lettering following the curved top of the border, and in the centre there is a large “50” in gold letters which has a green laurel wreath below it and “1929-1979” below that. 

In 1929 the Saskatchewan Fish & Game Protective Association was formed with the initiative of three individuals: Judge Bence and Tom Coburn from North Battleford and Stan Naden from Regina. They recognized there was a need for a unified voice to represent anglers and hunters and to ensure the protection the natural resources throughout the province. The organization changed its name to the Saskatchewan Fish & Game League in 1932, and only five years after its conception the organization had 14 branches across Saskatchewan with 839 total members. As the scope of the organization shifted over the years, the name was once again changed to The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation in 1966. It officially became a non-profit organization in 1982. 

As pictured in the central patch on this object, the organization adopted the Whooping Crane (Grus Americana) as its official emblem in 1968. The species was fighting its way back from the edge of extinction, the Federation implemented it a symbol to serve as “a reminder of what can happen when concern goes out the window, and what can be restored with determination and dedication.”

Marks/Labels

Plaque at the bottom reads “The Right Hon. John G. Deifenbaker ‘A True Outdoorsman and a Friend to Wildlife’  Presented on the occasion of the 50th ANNIVERSARY of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation Saskatoon, February 1979" 

Note there is a typo in the spelling of Diefenbaker on the plaque

Anti-Clockwise from bottom left the nine outer patches read: 

1. “Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation member region 3” 

2. “Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation member region 2” 

3. "Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation member region 1" 

4. “Conserve our wetlands Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation”

5. “Conservation Pledge. i give my pledge, as a Canadian to save and faithfully defend from waste, the natural resources of my country-its air, soil, minerals, waters forests and wildlife. Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation”

6. "Saskatchewan Wildlife Wederation member"

7. “Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation member region 6”

8. “Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation member region 5”

9. “Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation member region 4” 

The central two patches from top down read: 

1. “Don't Shoot! The Whooper. Sask. Wildlife Federation”

2. “Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation 50 1929-1979”

Accession label “80.5.2132” visible on back in the top right corner. 

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