Our Logo

In May 2009, the Arctic Health Research Network-NT changed its name to the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research. In addition to its broader and more institutionalized mandate, ICHR commissioned John Rombough, a Łutselk’e-based Dene artist to create a new logo to better symbolize our hopes and aspirations.

We are thus proud to introduce this John Rombough original as our new logo. It features a stylized spruce spirit watching over our people, both young and old, as well as medicine rocks and Mackenzie Delta trees.

About the Artist

Chipewyan Dene artist John Rombough was born in the remote community of Sioux Lookout in Northern Ontario, Canada. At the age of three, John was adopted by Carol and Lyall Rombough, a Prince Edward Island couple. He attributes his early interest in drawing and painting to being raised in their giving and artistic environment.

As a young adult John began the search for his birth parents. He discovered his biological father, Alfred Catholique, living in the community of Łutselk’e on the shores of Great Slave Lake. Warmly welcomed by all the Catholique family, John decided to move to the community in order to rediscover his cultural identity.

John Rombough’s painting style has since changed to reflect the harmony of the Dene peoples and the natural world. His distinctive modern aboriginal designs also encompass his own personal visions and strong connection with nature. New cultural discoveries continue to provide him with an inexhaustible reservoir of ideas to put to canvas. John’s paintings can be browsed online at the Birchwood Gallery and Bear Claw Gallery websites.