I SPOTLIGHT I
Celebration comeback National Indigenous People’s Day returns after three years
BY GENE KOSOWAN
RYAN ARCAND REMEMBERS the
vibe the last time National Indigenous People’s Day celebrations took place in front of a crowd in St. Albert. “My fondest memory was seeing all the love and the laughter and camaraderie and just people having a great time and a great day,” said the First Nations percussionist enterta iner a nd educator. “It was just absolutely beautiful.” That was back in 2019 at the city’s Lion’s Park, where dancers, singers and drummers in full ceremonial shared their ethnic heritages and spirituality to a throng of eager onlookers. Government directives issued during the pandemic the following year had since scuttled the live proceedings. But while variants of COVID-19 remain a going concern, organizer Marc Parent anticipates that this year’s celebrations will still be green-lit to take place Sunday, June 19. 44
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“It’ll be a celebration like it was three years ago,” said Parent, the president of the St Albert National Aboriginal Day Celebration Society. “It’ll be a celebration of indigenous and non-indigenous people gathering together, sometimes otherwise they would never gather together.”
that has previously included Inuit throat singers, First Nations drummers and dancers, and Metis musicians resonating across the park, while other participants engage patrons with activities from making dreamcatchers to telling stories about the healing gardens by the Sturgeon River.
Parent was quick to point out that no other day on the calendar provides an opportunity to showcase an event that enables aboriginals to share space with other Canadians. And while the committee is still putting together the affair’s itinerary, he’s pretty confident that the event format will be relatively the same as in previous years.
While the roster might sound packed, the ceremonies stray from a regimented schedule, said Parent. “It’s kind of a different event because it’s very loosely structured,” he added. “One band might play a little longer, one might play a little shorter, that’s kind of the way things roll.”
Traditionally, the event starts at noon with the Grand Entry of 100 dignitaries, followed by speeches from prominent members of the indigenous community as well as politicians from the municipal, provincial and federal governments. The revelry kicks off almost immediately after with an array of entertainment
Previously called National Aboriginal Day, National Indigenous People’s Day first became reality in 1996, when the federal government responded to a request by the Assembly of First Nations to set aside a national holiday to celebrate the accomplishments of its people. They selected June 21 as that day, but given that it’s only a statutory holiday in
