P.E.I. raises flag to celebrate Treaty Day
Celebrating Treaty Day is an important step on the path to reconciliation, says First Nation chief
Prince Edward Island is officially recognizing Treaty Day on Tuesday.
October 1 was the day in 1752 the Crown renewed its friendship with the Mi'kmaq by giving gifts. The day has been marked for a number of years in Nova Scotia.
Celebrating Treaty Day is an important step on the path to reconciliation says Darlene Bernard, chief of Lennox Island First Nation.
"The commitment to officially recognize Mi'kmaq Treaty Day in Prince Edward Island is a significant gesture and signals the commitment of Premier King and this government to a strong relationship with the P.E.I. Mi'kmaq," she said in a news release.
"Treaty Day serves as an important symbolic event to both strengthen the relationship between the Mi'kmaq of P.E.I. and the Crown and to educate the public about the Mi'kmaq treaties, as well as Mi'kmaq history and culture."
L’Île-du-Prince-Édouard souligne pour la 1ère fois le Jour du traité, commémorant la paix signée entre les Mi’kmaq et l’empire colonial britannique. Le premier ministre <a href="https://twitter.com/dennyking?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dennyking</a> promet de «renforcer les liens» entre la province et sa population autochtone. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ipe?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ipe</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/peipoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#peipoli</a> <a href="https://t.co/DU5SFD0k7a">pic.twitter.com/DU5SFD0k7a</a>
—@fpdufaultAbegweit and Lennox Island First Nations represent the two bands of Prince Edward Island.
Chiefs Bernard and Roddy Jr. Gould joined King Tuesday to raise the Mi'kmaq national flag at the provincial government offices in Charlottetown.
The flag will also be flown at Government House for the month of October in recognition of Treaty Day.