Drums and dancers will roll through Lion's Park this weekend as hundreds gather to celebrate St. Albert's aboriginal day.
National Aboriginal Day is June 21, and St. Albert plans to celebrate it this Sunday in Lion's Park. "We're turning it into more of a Canada Day celebration," says organizer Gwen Crouse, and aim to make it as inclusive as possible.
About 500 people are expected to attend the event for some six hours of free entertainment, Crouse says. Renowned Alexander hoop dancer Dallas Arcand will give a performance on the main stage, as will the Buffalo Plains drum group, Métis jiggers and Inuit throat singers. Kids can hear aboriginal legends from elders in the teepees on the grounds, while adults can check out demonstrations of lacrosse and aboriginal art.
Unlike last year, Crouse says, all these events will be held at Lion's Park. (Some events were held at city hall last year, but few people attended them.) The one exception is the elder's tea and bannock, which, as usual, will be held at the Michif Institute.
St. Albert has a rich aboriginal history, says Thelma Chalifoux of the Michif Institute, one the city should proudly celebrate. "I'm honoured my ancestors came to St. Albert in the 1600s," she says. "We worked together with newcomers that came to this country and that's why we didn't have any wars here."
Year of reconciliation
This year's event is particularly poignant, notes former member of Parliament Willie Littlechild, as it comes just days after the first session of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. As one of the members of that commission, he was in Winnipeg last week with some 3,000 residential school survivors to hear stories about their experiences.
"It was a very up and down thing for me emotionally," he says, as he also attended a residential school. Tales ranged from sad reflections on schooling to triumphant tales of recovery. He and the commission will spend the next few years collecting those stories across the nation as part of the residential schools settlement.
The effects of those schools lasted generations, says Chuck Isaacs, one of many St. Albert-area veterans who planned to take part in Sunday's events. His grandmother once raised her kids in a chicken coop to protect them from the schools, he recalls, scraping grain out of the floorboards to survive. "My grandmother for most of her life was Spanish because it was a bad thing to be aboriginal."
National Aboriginal Day gives aboriginals a chance to share the culture that those residential schools tried to stamp out, Littlechild says. "It's going to take all of us working together to turn [this] page on the history of our country."
There's still a lot of anger and hate towards aboriginals, Isaacs says — even within the aboriginal community — but much has improved over the last 20 years. "It's admirable to be an aboriginal in many places."
He and several other Alberta Métis were at the Juno Beach memorial in Europe last fall to witness the placement of a Red River cart at the site — one of several tributes to the sacrifices of aboriginals during the Second World War.
The celebrations start with a grand entry on June 27 at 11:30 a.m., and run until 6 p.m. Residents are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs. For details, call Crouse at 780-717-6783.
Powwow time
If you can't get to Lion's Park this weekend, try to get to Alexander next weekend for a free powwow.
Coun. Bernard Paul has invited St. Albert and area residents to Alexander on July 3 and 4 for the band's annual powwow. Some 500 spectators and 250 dancers are expected to attend, demonstrating the grass, jingle, chicken and other dances.
The grand entry is at 1 p.m. on July 3. For directions, call Jeannette Newborn at 780-939-5887.
