National Aboriginal Day

22 June 2009By Zhu 16 Comments

National Aboriginal Day on Victoria Island, Ottawa

National Aboriginal Day is a day for all Canadians to celebrate the cultures and contributions to Canada of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.

In Ottawa, most of the celebrations took place on Victoria Island, in the middle of the Ottawa River. It was a great chance to hear some performers, browse a variety of crafts and enjoy the atmosphere.

As an “almost Canadian” citizen, I enjoy learning about all aspects of this country’s culture. I must admit that Ottawa isn’t usually the best place to discover Aboriginal’s culture so this was a great opportunity. I strongly believe that we, newcomers, need to acknowledge this wonderful culture and its contribution to Canada. There is a long history of prejudices and stereotypes in Canada and it’s also up to us to make it change. So celebrate Aboriginal culture!

I would also like to recommend a great blog I have been reading for a little while now: Urban Native Girl Stuff’s. The author, Lisa, is Tsilhqot’in and a Cherokee Dutch/Mexican girl currently living in Toronto. Her blog aim at “dispelling myths and stereotypes about Indigenous North Americans; to support and celebrate the artistic endeavors by Indigenous people“. She is also a pop culture fan — basically, you can not not like her!

Little Dolls	Little Boxes
Totem Pole	Animal Skin
Making The Crafts	Bear Sculpture
Violon Player	Aurora Finkle and Her Father
Feeding The Crowd!	Relaxing...

16 Comments »

andy said:

love the tipi! stayed in one for a weekend in Wales of all places and can say it was the best holiday i think i’ve ever had.

# 6 July 2009 at 7:26 am

Cuckoo said:

And till now I thought only Australia talks about Aboriginals. Do they also play Didgeridoo like in Australia ?

# 26 June 2009 at 4:26 pm

Zhu (author) said:

@Scarlet – The boxes were my favorite. I wish I could have bought one!

@Shantanu – Yes, the terminology is quite confusing…!

@Soleil – It doesn’t exist in the US? It’s too bad, because it really is a good chance to acknowledge these wonderful cultures.

@Bill Miller – I think we use the word “Aboriginal” because we have three main groups, the First Nations, the Metis and the Inuits. The USA doesn’t have Inuits or Metis (who are the descendants of First Nation women who married English or French fur traders).

The pictures were always there… maybe they weren’t displaying well?

# 24 June 2009 at 11:30 pm