Arms of William Douglas Shead

Blazon

Per pale Argent and Gules dexter a heart Gules ensigned by a naval coronet Azure sinister two eagle feathers proper conjoined in chevron reversed, a base barry wavy per pale Gules and Argent and Argent and Azure;

Symbolism

The naval coronet marks Mr. Shead’s service in the Royal Canadian Navy, in which he held the rank of Lieutenant-Commander, while the heart, found at the centre of the arms of Selkirk, Manitoba, marks his service as Mayor of that municipality. The eagle feathers refer to the two branches of his Cree heritage through his father Harry Shead and mother Ruth Asham. The feathers are also significant as a reference to Mr. Shead’s wider service to the Indigenous community. The use of red and white, the national colours of Canada, represents his service to the nation. The wavy bars in red stand for the Red River and the original site of the St. Peter’s Band of Cree and Ojibway Peoples, to which Mr. Shead’s ancestors belonged. The blue and white bars represent the Fisher River where the St. Peter’s Band relocated and was renamed the Peguis Band. This water symbolism serves as a further reference to Mr. Shead’s naval service.