See how people are celebrating their culture during National Indigenous Peoples Day in Montreal
Day marked by music, workshops and dancing across Montreal
Under the midday sun Wednesday, a group of dancers made their way toward the clock tower by the St. Lawrence River in the Old Port of Montreal, also known as Tiohtià:ke.
The group was there to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day and the summer solstice. A crowd of people and families gathered around to watch and participate, at times being called upon to throw tobacco into a nearby sacred fire or join in one of the dances.
"It's just a way of teaching, a way of connecting, a way of showing the people that we're here. You're on our territory. We never gave it to you, we never sold it to you. It's still ours. We're here and we're not going anywhere," said Sedalia Kawennotas, a Bear Clan member from Kahnawà:ke and one of the elders presiding over the ceremony.
Kawennotas said she has participated in the ceremony for several years and has witnessed a gradual change in how National Indigenous Peoples Day is viewed by non-Indigenous people in Canada.
"At the beginning, people kind of ignored it. People didn't care. But as the years are going, people are starting to realize that it means something," she said.
Owen Skahionwi:io Mayo, a traditional Iroquois woodland dancer from Kahnawà:ke, said the day is a time non-Indigenous people in Canada are invited to learn and be curious about Indigenous culture.
"When you learn about your neighbour, I truly find so much peace that comes along from that," Skahionwi:io Mayo said.
The 30-year-old dancer said he's been dancing since his parents brought him to a powwow in 1994 and "they couldn't get me off of the dancing arbour."
WATCH | Some of the sights and sounds from today's event in the Old Port:
After that, he learned from elders and his friends and at Karihwanoron, a Kanien'kéha (Mohawk) immersion school in Kahnawà:ke.
Skahionwi:io Mayo said his grandmother was involved in language revitalization in the community and his grandfather is a Canadian Air Force veteran, and that practising traditional dance is a way of honouring their service and sacrifices.
Marcos and Joanna Askenazi and their three children, aged six, three and one, watched from underneath a tree nearby.
The family is visiting from Florida and had read about the event.
"It's a great way to educate the kids and it's a nice way to spend the day with the family. I think it also just shows us the value of human dignity and human life and the people who were here before us," said Marcos Askenazi.
He explained that his eldest son, Isaac, is blind and that the ceremony was a sensory experience for him.
Isaac, 6, said his favourite part of the day had been when a jingle dress dancer had let him feel the bells on her dress.
Mounira Ben Ismail sat on a blanket to the side with her co-workers from the non-profit Musique Nomade, an organization that works to promote Indigenous music.
Ben Ismail said she moved to Montreal from Tunisia four years ago and that there seems to be a lack of publicity and media coverage of Indigenous communities in Canada.
"I never knew this existed in Canada (before moving here)," she said. "I thought it was only in history." Attending the ceremony, Ben Ismail said, has encouraged her to seek out more opportunities for cultural exchange and learning.
A picnic in Kahnawà:ke
In Kahnawà:ke, community members came together for a picnic filled with activities for people of all ages.
The event was a collaboration between a local radio station, K1037, and Kahnawà:ke's language and cultural centre.
For Denis Stacey, one of K1037's staff that helped put the event together, National Indigenous Peoples Day is a day of hard work but also an opportunity to show others how close knit Kahnawà:ke is.
"I think a lot of communities can learn from Kahnawà:ke in how we all know each other, we all are so organized," he said.
Community members had the opportunity to contribute to an art mural, play sports and learn from the several community organizations that were in attendance.
Teiotsatonteh Diabo, born and raised in Kahnawà:ke, dropped by the picnic on Wednesday to get up to date with the community.
"Anyone who's Indigenous, they should look into their culture, they should appreciate it a little bit more," she said.
Diabo also says though she appreciates National Indigenous Peoples Day, she makes sure to celebrate herself on a daily basis.
"I'm just happy it's not Columbus Day overall."
With files from Sara Eldabaa