Indigenous Peoples Day showcases Manitoba as mecca of heritage and culture

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/06/2018 (2982 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thursday is National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Proclaimed by Governor General Roméo LeBlanc in 1996, this day is always June 21, the first day of summer.

The changing of the seasons.

According to the government of Canada website, it’s “a day for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse culture, and outstanding contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.”

A critic might say Canada should do this every day.

But let’s put this aside for a moment.

It’s usually a pretty cool day.

There’s lots to do and see.

Maybe you get time off to honour the day. Maybe you don’t. Only the Northwest Territories makes it a formal statutory holiday. Talk to your boss.

Regardless, check it out if you can. Riding Mountain National Park is holding a teepee raising. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is staging a free concert highlighted by multi-award winning Winnipeg band Indian City. The University of Manitoba is holding day-long events and is even hosting an Anishinaabe cardio session.

The list goes on.

You could go to Indigenous Day Live at The Forks, happening all day Saturday. At noon there will be a nation-wide round dance – a great idea if you ask me. Thank Idle No More for doing it first.

Still, why not try something new, fun, and different?

It is the changing of the seasons.

Here are four ideas for you to try this National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Stage An Indigenous Film Festival

For a warmup, search “Indigenous Canada” on Youtube. You’ll be there for hours. There are short films, music videos, and interviews. All Indigenous. All entertaining.

Next, type in the name of filmmakers like Tasha Hubbard or Shane Belcourt. Check out the documentary Reel Injun. Watch comedy from Paul Rubliauskus, Candy Palmater or the troupe The 1491s.

End by streaming feature films like The Lesser Blessed, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, or Indian Horse.

If you can’t stream, check out – for free – the 130 English or 90 French films by Indigenous directors on the National Film Board website.

Sample Indigenous Art

The Winnipeg Art Gallery still has the best collection of Inuit art on the planet. See it again.

Then, spend the afternoon in the Exchange District at Winnipeg’s best kept secret: Urban Shaman, one of the only Indigenous artist-run centres in Canada. The gallery currently features the work of Seneca-Cayuga artist Jamison Chas Banks.

Find the seven billboards around the city featuring Indigenous female artists as a part of the national exhibition resilience. Hint: there’s a map online.

While driving around, listen to NCI-FM radio and hear the best Indigenous music in Canada and beyond.

End your day by downloading Indigenous video games like Honour Waterby Elizabeth LaPensée or Never Alone by About Upper One Games. You’ll discover how Indigenous video games push the envelope of gaming itself.

Support Indigenous Economies

Go grocery shopping at Neechi Commons. Choose to buy Indigenous foods from throughout North America like beans, squash, corn and top it all with fish from Manitoba’s north.

Check out the local art for sale at Cree-Ations & Artist Showcase or in Neechi Niche in Neechi Commons, both on Main Street.

While in Neechi Niche, check out the book selections there or see the new McNally Robinson store in The Forks, which has one of the best selections of Indigenous literatures in town.

Finally, end your day by travelling to one of the two best Indigenous restaurants in Canada, Cookem Daisey’s or Feast Cuisine. Both are incredible.

See Indigenous

Travel to the Manitoba Indigenous Cultural Centre on Sutherland Avenue. There you will find artifacts on display and rare books from Indigenous history in Manitoba. Most know about the great content at the Manitoba Museum and the Canadian Museum of Human Rights but few know about this mecca.

Go on one of the walking tours of Indigenous history at The Forks. Check out the monuments everywhere there that recognize the history of that place.

Try Indigenous media. Watch APTN National News. Read the satirical news website Walking Eagle News. Check out the great stories on CBC Indigenous. Get to know the name Lenard Monkman. That guy is going places.

Map Indigenous history in your neighbourhood. See if you can find five spots within walking distance that use Indigenous names, honour Indigenous peoples, or recognize Indigenous history.

This Indigenous Peoples Day we all have an opportunity to try something new in one of the richest and most vibrant communities in the country.

A community that Indigenous peoples are contributing to, building, and growing all the time.

Every day.

Maybe even more than just a day.

Niigaan Sinclair is Anishinaabe and is a columnist at the Winnipeg Free Press.