Saturday, June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day across Canada, and First Nations throughout the region will be celebrating the event with a variety of public celebrations where all are welcome.
Formerly known as National Aboriginal Day, the event was celebrated officially for the first time in 1996. June 21 was selected as the date because it often coincides with the summer solstice, and is a time when many Indigenous people and communities traditionally celebrate their heritage. It has been a statutory holiday in the Northwest and Yukon Territories since 2001 and 2017 respectively, but is not a statutory holiday in the rest of the country.
The Whispering Pines/Clinton Band is holding its Indigenous Peoples Day event on Friday, June 20 at its new Territorial Stewardship Office at 1505 Cariboo Highway, Clinton. The event includes information booths, vendor tables, food, games, prizes, and more, and runs from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Llenllenéy’ten (High Bar) First Nation is hosting a National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration on June 21 at Reg Conn Centennial Park in Clinton, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The theme of the event is “Let’s Celebrate the Past, Challenge the Present, and Change the Future — Together,” and all are welcome at a day that will be filled with culture, connection, and community.
“This day is for everyone,” says Kúkpi7 Jamie Fletcher. “It’s a time to come together in unity, share culture and stories, enjoy a meal, and continue building strong relationships with each other.”
The celebration will feature a welcome address, drumming, family-friendly activities, local vendors and artisans, and free food and refreshments. It’s an opportunity for everyone to honour Indigenous heritage, celebrate resilience, and reflect on the path forward, together. For more information, contact the Llenllenéy’ten First Nation office at (250) 459-2117.
St’uxwtéws (Bonaparte) First Nation will be starting June 21 at a ceremony at the Ashcroft Terminal, with the unveiling of a monument honouring ancestral remains found at the site. A bus will be departing Hat Creek Ranch at 9 a.m. for those who need transportation, and the ceremony at the terminal begins at 9:45 a.m. with an opening prayer and drum song; closing remarks will be at 11 a.m.
Events continue at Hat Creek Ranch starting at noon, with St’uxwtéws and the ranch partnering for an afternoon of reconciliation, celebration, and community that will honour culture, resilience, and shared history. There will be traditional drumming, singing, and dancing, cultural games such as lahal, a family-friendly Secwépemc language scavenger hunt, a bouncy castle, face painting, door prizes, and a barbecue lunch.
Events at the ranch start with lunch at noon, followed by opening remarks at 1 p.m. and a pow wow exhibition starting with a drum song and grand entry at 1:30 p.m. (bring your own chairs). For more information, call Angie Thorne at (250) 457-6233, ext. 239.
National Indigenous Peoples Day is a day to recognize and celebrate the history, heritage, resiliency, and diversity of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people across Canada. According to the 2021 Census of Canada, there were 1.8 million Indigenous people living in Canada, making up five per cent of the country's population. More than half (55.5 per cent) of the country's First Nations people lived in Western Canada.
The 2021 census also showed that the Indigenous population of Canada is younger than the non-Indigenous population. The average age of Indigenous people was 33.6 years in 2021, compared with 41.8 years for the non-Indigenous population.
There are 70 distinct Indigenous languages in Canada, and in the 2021 census one in eight Indigenous people stated that they knew one of those languages well enough to conduct a conversation in it. More than two-thirds of the 183,790 First Nations people who reported they could speak an Indigenous language lived on reserve in 2021, and First Nations people living on reserve (39.8 per cent) were almost five times more likely to speak an Indigenous language compared with those living off reserve (eight per cent).
Those wanting to learn more about Indigenous languages in Canada should visit the First Voices website (www.firstvoices.com/), a collaborative platform where Indigenous communities manage, curate, and share their languages. An initiative of the First Peoples' Cultural Council and First Peoples' Cultural Foundation, First Voices is an internationally-recognized online platform where language champions collaborate with Indigenous Elders, youth, and speakers to create and share language resources like words, phrases, songs, and stories.
