Powwow ceremony, free outdoor concerts, film screenings and family games, activities for all tastes were offered Friday for National Indigenous Peoples Day.
Officially established by the Canadian government in 1996, the celebration takes place each year on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. For millennia, indigenous peoples have showcased their culture and heritage. And it continues.
Philippe Tsaron Sere Meilleur is the general director of Montréal Autochtone, an organization fighting for social housing in the community. He sees this day as the ideal opportunity “to provide environments for children to simply play, feel good and break the cycle of intergenerational violence that colonialism has caused.”
Around a hundred members of the First Nations gathered with this objective in mind at Arthur-Therrien Park, in the borough of Verdun, in Montreal, to share their traditions and customs.
Sitting on the grass in small groups, they shared food, such as Inuit bannock-style fried buns, and showed visitors how to play instruments, such as the Inuit drum. While various artists played music from different indigenous peoples, the children ran around the park, made crafts and learned about their cultures.
“For me, just seeing these children play like that and having music that makes them feel anchored in their culture, that’s the accomplishment,” sums up Mr. Meilleur.
Passing through the museum
At the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, access to several collections was completely free. In particular, the Tout-Monde arts collection, which brings together works by Indigenous people from the Americas, from Canada to the United States, including Mexico and Peru.
Sofie Alcock, a tourist from Great Britain, took the opportunity to admire indigenous works from here and elsewhere. “We don’t have these types of exhibitions” in Scotland, she comments, adding that she was amazed by a bark painting made by a shaman.
In Westmount
This is the third year that the City of Westmount has organized a cultural activity to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day. This time, around fifty people of all ages were able to enjoy the performance of Shauit, a singer-songwriter who draws his musical inspirations from different cultural sources.
Originally from Maliotenam, the young artist sings in English, French, Creole and Innu. The son of an Acadian father and an Innu mother, he was raised in French, but reconnected with his maternal culture over time.
“Shauit is the Innu version of Jean-Eudes, my first name in French,” explained the artist. He then pointed out that the creation of Innu-sounding names from French names is common among the Innu. This educational dimension accompanied the entire service.
Shauit’s music combines reggaeton, folk and traditional Innu sounds. In 2018, he won Best Indigenous Language Album of the Year in North America at the Indigenous Music Awards, and, the same year, Indigenous Author of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. Himself on drums, vocals and guitar, he was accompanied by a violinist, a bassist and a percussionist.
“Shauit had sent us his application for the Westmount summer concert series, but we preferred to schedule it for the June 21 party, so that he could really have his own moment,” says Anne-Marie Lacombe, director. of the Westmount library and community events.
Throughout the month of June, as part of National Indigenous History Month, the Westmount library is also offering an exhibition on First Nations literature.
