By Bryan Eneas

Kinsmen Park to host National Aboriginal Day celebrations

Jun 13, 2016 | 2:15 PM

June 21 is a significant date for two reasons, the summer solstice and National Aboriginal Day.

This is not a coincidence, as the summer solstice is historically an incredibly important time for First Nation peoples.

This year at Kinsmen Park in Prince Albert, the 20th annual National Aboriginal Day celebrations will kick off a little later in the day previous celebrations. Starting at 2 p.m. with a teepee raising ceremony, the all-ages festivities will include a free barbecue dinner, story-telling, crafts and games. Entertainment wise, local acts will be playing on the park’s main stage throughout the day.

Although it is the 20th annual celebration of National Aboriginal Day this is the seventh time celebrations have taken place in Prince Albert. All members of the community are welcome and encouraged to attend the festivities.

“We want as many people to attend the events as we can,” Janet Carriere, the executive director of the Prince Albert Indian and Métis Friendship Centre said. “It is an opportunity for us to showcase our culture to those who might not see it or know about it.”

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This year’s event features a number of firsts. The celebrations had typically been held on a weekend, regardless of when National Aboriginal Day actually fell. According to Carriere, celebrations on June 21 will become the norm.

“We have moved the start time to 2 p.m. to accommodate the weekday date,” Carriere said. “We wanted to make it so as many people as possible could attend.”

For the first time ever, the Prince Albert RCMP will be sending members of the Aboriginal Policing group to participate in activities.

According to Steve Climenhaga of the RCMP’s Aboriginal Policing detachment, a few members will be on hand and will raise a teepee during the raising ceremonies.

“We have an RCMP teepee, and we’re going to be setting it up. We’re going to try and have some of our aboriginal (service) members there to hand out goodies to the kids and interact with the public,” Climenhaga said.

After being a part of the last three Regina celebrations, Climenhaga was transferred to the Prince Albert detachment and wanted to galvanize the Aboriginal Policing unit into participation here.

“I transferred here last year and to be honest I did a search online and found the events here in Prince Albert,” Climenhaga said. “We haven’t participated before so I thought it would be a great opportunity to be a part of these celebrations.”

It’s a great opportunity for children to see (the RCMP) from the other side. It will be nice for them to be seen in a positive light.”

Concluding at 8 p.m. with a pipe ceremony and closing celebrations, National Aboriginal Day will wrap up for another year.  

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On Twitter: @BryanEneas