What to expect for National Indigenous Peoples Day

From fiddling to hoop dances to throat singing, organizers are hoping this year’s National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in Regina will produce fun for all ages.

On Wednesday, the City of Regina is scheduled to host its 11th annual celebration for National Indigenous Peoples Day in Victoria Park. The event is being hosted by the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Network as well as several community partners.

“It’s a great way to come and spend your lunch hour if you’re working at one of the offices nearby,” said Jonathan Carrier with the National Indigenous Peoples Day committee.

“We have tons of busloads of schoolkids coming to check out the day too. It’s going to be a pretty exciting day.”

The event will be free of charge and is expected to run from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The day was first proclaimed in 1996 by then-governor general Roméo LeBlanc. It is dedicated to recognizing the contributions and culture of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people.

Regina is part of the National Indigenous Peoples Day committee and is scheduled to host an event Wednesday in Victoria Park and Pat Fiacco Plaza.

The day is to kick off at 10 a.m. with the Kid Zone and the Indigenous Craft Fair featuring items made by artisans.

An 11 a.m., the grand entry is scheduled followed by an honour song for residential school children and their descendants.

Something new for this year’s event is a performance by the Inuit throat-singing duo the Sila Singers.

“In previous years we had difficulty trying to bring (one Inuit performer) in, so we are very excited to have a duo come in and they’re actually from different parts of Canada,” said Kristen Francis, who’s also with the Regina committee.

There will also be performances from:

• Noon — The Creeland Dancers, an Indigenous square dance group, followed by The Dean Smith Band, a Métis fiddle band;
• 12:20 p.m. — Zoey Roy, a Nehiyaw, Dené and Métis spoken-word artist who will also emcee the event;
• 12:30 p.m. — The Kawacatoose Boys, who will perform a powwow and hoop dance.

Francis said that all of the performances will be repeated

“During that time, everybody can go enjoy the (Indigenous Craft Fair),” Francis said. “(It will feature) a lot of different artisans sharing all of their crafts and all of their jewelry and artistry and things like that.”

Carrier said there will be lots of beadwork as well as paintings and clay work.

Family-friendly activities will be in the Kid Zone, which will include a Red River Cart demonstration, beaded keychains, Métis jigging, Cree syllabics, NIPD button-making, and a colouring station.

Carrier said people are free to come and go to the various Kid Zone activities except for the beading activity, which requires punctuality.

“National Indigenous Peoples Day is an amazing opportunity to come and celebrate the diverse cultures and rich heritage of the First Nations, Metis and Inuit people,” Carrier said.

“This is an incredible opportunity for anybody in the community to come down and learn a little bit more about Indigenous culture or heritage and to maybe take their first step on their path of reconciliation.”