National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations across Saskatchewan

Celebrations are to be held across Saskatchewan on Tuesday as Canada commemorates National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Victoria Park in Regina will be having a celebration hosted by comedian, actor and champion chicken dancer Conway Kootenay. The event will have live performances, cultural demonstrations, Indigenous crafts and bannock tasting.

The event is to begin at 11 a.m.

Event organizer Rob Allin said this is not only a celebration but a learning opportunity.

“The biggest thing that we want to take away is learning a little bit about culture, just realizing we are here and a part of your community,” Allin said.

Allin said learning about sharing the land — almost like sharing the park for the day — is a lesson in itself.

“I think it is an incredibly great day and (a chance) to share the culture with the people on this land,” he said.

The demand for the event was huge prior to the pandemic. This year, he’s sure the event will attract approximately 6,000 people throughout the course of the day.

“This is a welcome back to gathering and bringing our community back together,” Allin said.

In Saskatoon, the Rock Your Roots Walk for Reconciliation that was scheduled to start at 10 a.m., was cancelled in the wake of Monday’s storm.

“Provided it’s safe to do so, the Rock Your Roots organizing committee encourages people to take their own walk of reconciliation at any time of day (Tuesday) … and to post to social media using the hashtag #RockYourRoots,” organizers said in a media release.

Private events honouring residential school survivors are slated to continue, as is an afternoon event hosted by the Saskatoon Indian & Metis Friendship Centre.

Carrie Catherine, the director of Reconciliation Saskatoon, said the event at its core comes back to taking the Calls to Action into the rest of the year.

“I hope they carry some fuel to keep the work going,” she said. “The journey of Truth and Reconciliation is a hard one, and it is a lifelong journey. So what we really hope is that feeling of community is one that will sustain our efforts, but also hope the residential school survivors have the experience of being seen and being heard and recognized.”

Catherine said organizers had hoped to get 5,000 people out for the event.

“For one day, (we’re) animating the changes we want to see in our city,” she said. “We have so many newcomers joining as on this day, we get to experience this sense of inclusion and equality.

“For me, that’s so important to keep doing the hard work of listening and learning and showing up, because I have had that experience. I know what it is like to show up when we truly work together as a culture.”