The summer solstice is a bright, energetic way to celebrate Aboriginal Day festivities, a blend of culture, heritage and spirituality.
From June 21 to July 1, National Aboriginal Day is celebrated across Canada with a checkerboard of events highlighting First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures. The St. Albert National Aboriginal Day Society mounts its teepees on Sunday, June 23.
As in previous years, the free, local festival will be held at Lions Park.
This one-day event is an opportunity for all to immerse themselves in the living traditions of Alberta’s indigenous peoples, experiencing authentic music, dance, food, stories and crafts, said Libby Szarka, president of St. Albert’s National Aboriginal Day Society.
The festival is an oral heritage passed down through millennia of ancestors – one that even predates the Egyptian pyramids by about 15,000 years.
It starts with a 12 p.m. opening ceremony that includes elders, politicians from three levels of government and honoured guests.
In this mix of the traditional and contemporary, singer Riley Kootenay will belt out O Canada while a march of First Nations, Métis and Inuit dancers, throat singers, drummers and fiddlers kick off the events.
Throughout the afternoon visitors can nibble on bannock burgers, play traditional games such as Run and Scream. On site will also be various forms of entertainment from country singers Darlene Olson and Tim Harwell to Métis jigging, hoop dancing and traditional drum dances.
The event finishes at 4 p.m. with a round dance. It is a “friendship dance” explains entertainment co-ordinator Ryan Arcand. “We invite everybody to join in.”
The drum is a backbone of traditional aboriginal dance and speaks to the culture’s heritage and spirituality.
“If you listen to the drum and put your hand on your heart it’s the same. If you listen to the drum, it’s the same beat of the heart you felt inside your mamma. It’s Mother Earth. We are all the same and we all pull together,” he adds.
Arcand views the festival as one step in breaking down barriers and bridging understanding and respect between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people.
He has experienced discrimination, and although it is no longer violent as in the old days, it still exists in Arcand’s life.
“It boggles my mind that school-age children still experience it,” he says.
As an example, he adds his nine-year old son cut his long hair because other kids teased him about it. The youngster had wanted to emulate his father in wearing braids, a sign of power in aboriginal culture.
Szarka, the program co-ordinator-developer at Poundmaker’s Lodge, also works to close the gap between cultures. However, she sees little discrimination.
“At Poundmaker we have both aboriginal and non-aboriginal. From what I see the relationships are good. But there are still some misunderstandings and there is a lot of learning to do.”
She adds that the native culture is a healing culture and people are curious to seek the spiritual.
“I have non-aboriginal friends who, upon hearing of the festival, want more information and they want to learn the proper protocol. People are reaching out to learn more.”
The party starts at 12 noon on Sunday.
