National Aboriginal Day is this Wednesday, June 21. As always, there is a multitude of activities around Edmonton to celebrate Canada’s Indigenous population. The day will be filled with pow wows, workshops, round dances, performances, and sacred ceremonies. Are you thinking of attending a pow wow? Non-indigenous attendees might find this article on how to be an ally during pow wow season to be useful.
Events around Edmonton
The Art Gallery of Alberta is offering free admission all day and there are a number of activities planned throughout the day.
Cassidy Halcrow of the University of Alberta Native Studies Students’ Association is hosting a beading workshop.
Tanya Harnett will lead an exhibition tour of Past Imperfect: A Canadian History Project.
There will be a screening of Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, a film about the 1990 Oka Crisis.
APTN is hosting Aboriginal Day Live at Victoria Park. The day starts at 6:00 AM with the Sacred Fire Ceremony. Other programming will start at 10:00 AM. In the evening, Ashley Callingbull and Pakesso Mukash will be hosting a concert featuring artists such as Inuit throat-singer, Kathleen Ivaluarjuk Merritt, Juno Award-winning harmonicist, Gérald Laroche, and singer-songwriter, Iskwé.
Continue your education
If you are a settler looking to learn more about Indigenous people in our city, consider the resources below.
Residential Schools
My Decade at Old Sun, My Lifetime of Hell is a simple and outspoken account of the sexual and psychological abuse that Arthur Bear Chief suffered during his time at Old Sun Residential school in Gleichen on the Siksika Nation. You can download a copy of Arthur’s memoir for free from the AU Press website.
Working Toward Reconciliation
Reconciliation in Solidarity Edmonton (RISE) is a community group committed to supporting reconciliation efforts in Edmonton. Like them on Facebook where they share information about events around the city and relevant news articles.
Steps toward reconciliation. We Are Coming Home tells the story of the repatriation of sacred bundles from the Glenbow Museum to the Blackfoot people.
“It seems to me that whenever we bring home something that came from our ancestors, it ignites our will and our self-esteem. We remember that, at one time, we were able to do all these things on our own. If we can bring back a bundle, we can bring back other parts of our culture. To me, it is all part of repatriation. It is not only a repatriation of sacred items. It is a repatriation of a way of life that was taken away from us through residential schools and all those other efforts to assimilate us.” –Frank Weasel Head, Blackfoot traditionalist and Elder for the Iitskinaiksi (Horn Society)
The History of Indigenous Peoples in Canda
Indigenous Canada MOOC: This 12-week course is taught from an indigenous perspective and explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. You can audit the course for free or pay to receive a certificate at the end of the course.
The Amiskwaciy History Series is a lecture series that takes place at Edmonton Public Library branches around the city. Every month, join a different speaker to learn more about Indigenous history in Edmonton.
