Regional First Nations communities celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day on Wednesday in a multitude of different ways.
The holiday, which was originally titled National Aboriginal Day, has been officially celebrated in Canada since 1996 and many First Nations communities have developed their own annual traditions to celebrate their culture.
Red Rock Indian Band, which resides on the edge of Lake Helen, started off their celebration with a ceremony honouring their veterans and members who are currently serving in the military.
The community was joined by a representative from the office of Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, as well as representatives from various organizations in the nearby town of Nipigon, who all joined in the honouring of the community’s veterans.
Chief Marcus Hardy said that it was great to see so much support coming in from outside the community.
“It's a good representation of our relationships that we have with the other communities outside of Lake Helen here and also with government,” he said.
Red Rock Indian Band continued its celebrations with a community parade, kayak races, and many other activities throughout the day.
A little further north on the shores of Lake Nipigon, Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek started off its own celebrations at the Royal Windsor Lodge with a community lunch that was followed by many local culture-related activities like making little villages, wild rice popping, a tabahon contest, and much more.
Maryann Mickelson, the community’s health director, organized the day’s activities and said that it was great to see so many families come out to celebrate.
“I love it, usually we get quite a few families here and our families average three to four children per family, it’s really nice to see the younger generation,” she said.
“A lot of our elders are gone but we have some up-and-coming elders and grandparents here spending time with their children and just being together and playing together and being creative together.”
Many other First Nation communities around the region celebrated the holiday in their own ways, like Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, which celebrated early over the weekend with many activities and a fish derby, and Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg which held activities like a bannock contest, canoe races and readings with Joannie White Buffalo.
