By Sarah Rae

Battlefords celebrate National Aboriginal Day with pancake breakfast

Jun 21, 2016 | 2:43 PM

Hundreds of people took the opportunity to learn about Aboriginal heritage while eating pancakes, playing games, and watching musical performances.

The Battlefords celebrated the 20th National Aboriginal Day with a free breakfast and entertainment Tuesday, June 21.  

Sylvia Weenie of the Treaty Six Education Council (TSEC) said she feels National Aboriginal Day is important so First Nations people can be reminded of how proud they should be of their culture.

“We need to keep reminding our children, our grandchildren of the rich heritage that we have and we need to pass that knowledge down to them so they can walk away feeling good about themselves,” she said.

The event, organized by Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre, attracted more than 1,500 people.

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Weenie was there to educate people about Aboriginal heritage.

She had a display set up with cultural artefacts like beadwork, a hand drum, a jingle dress and a model of a tipi. She said many women were especially interested in the moss bags, which keep babies snug to help them sleep.

“This is a step in the right direction,” she said, adding, “We need better understanding between the two nations because we live side-by-side and there should be that understanding to make it better for our future generations.”

Weenie said she is now passing on her knowledge to her daughters, who were at the event. One of her daughters, Kimberly Night, said she’s always trying to expand her knowledge so she can pass it along to her family.

“We’re not made to feel, in our homes, to be proud of who we are and this opens up a door as to who we really are,” she said. “It’s a chance for all of us to come out and feel that Indigenous pride that we have.”

Lamarr Oksasikewiyin, a teacher at Mosquito School, was demonstrating traditional Aboriginal games. He said traditionally these games were meant to teach life skills and impart valuable lessons for students like hand-eye coordination and conflict resolution.

Many of the games Oksasikewiyin teaches were taken away from children when they were forced into residential schools, so they were played in secret.

“A lot of these games went underground and I’m trying to tell people that it’s okay to bring them back, so we’re using them to revive our culture,” he said.

sarah.rae@jpbg.ca

@sarahjeanrae