It was a day of song, dance and learning at the Lloydminster Native Friendship Centre to commemorate National Aboriginal Day on Sunday.
As a national holiday, National Aboriginal Day was first put in place to recognize the ancestors of Canada, and pay tribute to their culture.
Audrey Park, chair of the board of directors for the Lloydminster Native Friendship Centre, said the day is to be shared with others.
“It’s a day that recognizes aboriginal people across Canada and it’s also a day that the federal government recognized and awarded a day.
“The fact that we were acknowledged by the federal government for our contributions across Canada and to society for both First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people, it’s a big gathering to celebrate our heritage, our culture and sharing that with the non-aboriginal people that we like to share,” Park said.
Park explained aboriginal people like to share, and that “it’s an education process as well for people who are not aware of our culture.”
The gathering of people, much like on National Aboriginal Day or events like powwows or round dances, as Park puts it, are a healing process for those attending.
“It’s like a healing process because of a lot of the stuff that has happened throughout the years like with First Nations people, and in particular with the residential schools,” Park said. “The language, the culture, the prayers, everything was taken away from us, it wasn’t allowed, but now we are able to share our history and our culture.”
Events like National Aboriginal Day aren’t only beneficial to share with others, but it also gives an opportunity to educate and enhance the culture among youth.
Park expressed her concern over today’s aboriginal youth losing their culture, language, and tradition, and that it’s important to reinforce it because, “hopefully they’re our future leaders in our communities,” she said.
“It’s important that we can continue our culture, continue our language, continue our practices and it gets people together, it’s a fun time, it’s celebration and we’re proud people, very proud,” Park said.
Winston Walkingbear, an attendee at the Friendship Centre’s festivities on Sunday, said the significance behind National Aboriginal Day for him is “because it speaks to what our ancestors always spoke about,” he said.
“That is based on mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual benefit of relationships among peoples, but most importantly, relationships to the land,” Walkingbear said.
Walkingbear expressed a need to share and teach aboriginal culture with today’s youth as well, and that the next generation needs to be prepared to “take care of the land and maintain the livelihood,” he said.
“When our ancestors saw settlers coming, they were thinking seven generations ahead,” Walkingbear said. “We’re the seventh generation, so we need to think of the next seven generations for everybody.
“We’re all brothers and sisters I guess, and it’s time aboriginal people start sharing, they have something to contribute to society, it’s not just stereotypes people see, it’s bigger than that,” he said.
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