As the embodiment of the sun, the hummingbird radiates with the warmth of dawn. It’s wings are rays of sunlight, cascading outwards from the core representing a new day full of hope and strength.

The hummingbird looks towards the bright future ahead.

We chose the hummingbird because of it's universality as a symbol for resilience across many different cultures. To First Nations people on Canada’s Pacific Coast, the hummingbird symbolizes beauty, intelligence, love, and is a messenger of joy. The Aztec’s god of war, Hu?tzil?p?chtli, gets his name from the Nahuatl word for hummingbird, huitzilin. They believed that fallen warriors were reincarnated as hummingbirds. The story "I will be a hummingbird" by Wangari Maathai tells the legend of tiny hummingbird carrying small drops of water in her beak to help put our a forest fire. When the other, larger animals ask her why she thinks she can put out the fire despite her size, she replied, "I am doing the best I can".

DAWN Canada stands for human rights, access for all, understanding intersectional experience, and centering the margins for people all over the world. If we raise up the hummingbird as our new symbol of resistance, our logo will better reflect who we are as an organization, and as people.