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Prince Albert celebrates National Indigenous Peoples Day

Jun 21, 2018 | 5:15 PM

The thundering of the big drum filled Kinsmen Park as the Gateway to the North celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents alike gathered for an afternoon filled with knowledge-sharing, food, and live entertainment.

“Anybody that’s Indigenous in the crowd, celebrate today. Walk tall, be proud, and never forget where you came from,” Janet Carriere, from the Prince Albert Indian and Métis Friendship Centre said. “Those that are non-Indigenous … reach across, ask questions, learn.”

The gathering was kicked off by a Grand Entry celebration at 2 p.m.

 

 

Dignitaries from across the province piled into Kinsmen Park. Figures like Fred Sasakamoose, the first Indigenous person to play hockey in the NHL and recent Order of Canada inductee, were on hand to celebrate in Prince Albert.

Among the day’s performers was chicken dancer Quentin Tootoosis, from Poundmaker. Tootoosis carried in the Eagle Staff and demonstrated his dance style to the crowds gathered in Kinsmen Park.

“It’s a big thing to our people to dress in a unique way to represent where you come from, your family, how you were raised, your respect, your views of life,” Tootoosis said. “A celebration where it brings multicultural people together.”

 

 

The day’s events were emceed by Conrad Burns, who said National Indigenous Peoples Day is about celebrating all people in Canada.

“We are all Indigenous people here in Canada; we all represent one kind of culture, but we have to work together and celebrate our differences as we come together as a community,” Burns said.

Festivities will run until 8 p.m. tonight. Aside from the live performances, a blanket exercise will be conducted around 6 p.m. as a teaching for the community about the impact of colonization on Indigenous people.

 

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca
On Twitter: @BryanEneas