‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day is every day’

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This article was published 21/06/2023 (886 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Guided by horses and song, 30 people marched from Memorial Park to The Forks Wednesday morning, where National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations were in full force. The walk, organized by the 60s Scoop Legacy of Canada, honours survivors of the period between 1960 and 1980 when Indigenous children were taken from their homes by the child welfare system.

Behind the trio of horses, the trunk of a pickup truck carried three men who drummed as they made their way down the street, eliciting cheers from people waiting at Portage Avenue bus stops.

“Come walk with us!” a woman marcher called.

Roxanne Flett joined the group at Memorial Boulevard and Portage Avenue. As the drum guided the crowd, she giddily danced to the beat, wishing she’d worn her jingle dress, rather than a pair of shorts.

“Every child matters!” Flett exclaimed, while livestreaming the march over Instagram.

The 60s scoop walk is one of many Flett has attended this year. Last month, she marched in the Mother’s Day memorial walk for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. She does so in hopes of bringing attention to the issues that matter most to her.

“It’s promoting how we should be fighting for our rights,” she said. “I think that every race has to learn about us because if every race doesn’t learn who we are, they just judge…they don’t know what kind of pain we are going through.”

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A skip away from the powwow grounds where the marchers dispersed, youngsters from schools across Winnipeg spent the day eating bannock, listening to stories and watching hoop dance performances at the Children’s Museum.

Elder Barb Nepinak was sitting by the head of the museum train, preparing to share stories with the field trippers.

Nepinak, who has spent the last 23 years bringing Indigenous programming to the museum with her late husband, Clarence, said the history of The Forks provides ample storytelling opportunities.

“This is a significant location for our people,” Nepinak said. “This is a location where people came to trade, create relationships and make marriage arrangements. All kinds of things happened here.”

Nepinak has witnessed The Forks change a lot over the past two decades. The early days of offering bannock-on-a-stick at the museum and hosting gatherings at Odeena’s Circle have evolved, making the site a thriving Indigenous cultural hub.

“A lot of people were not ready to make that kind of commitment. There was still a lot of reluctance in our community,” Nepinak said. “It was with the support and the risk-taking of the staff at The Forks Foundation that believed in us, that we could do this.”

To further their commitment to reconciliation, Andrea Brickwood, the museum’s director of education and exhibits, said admission to the museum will be free for Indigenous people from today onwards.

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Back at the festival grounds, a pipe ceremony started ahead of the powwow. As wafts of tobacco and firewood filled the air, tears were shed as those in the circle prayed and shared their blessings for the day.

A rainbow of dancers in ribbon skirts and jingle dresses graced the field as they gathered for the round dance. The announcer hoped it would blossom into “Winnipeg’s biggest round dance.”

“We’re going to try to break a record,” he said to the crowd.

Led by hand drummer Daryll Buck, the dance welcomed survivors of residential school, day school and the 60s scoop to the circle. As they trailed in a semi-circle, more survivors got up from their seats to join hands.

“To us, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is every day,” the announcer said.

cierra.bettens@freepress.mb.ca