There is much to be learned from other people and much to be gained by treating others with respect. That’s the message of Huntsville’s annual First Nations, Métis and Inuit Celebration, this year on June 22 from 11am-1pm.
“It’s a celebration, mostly geared toward school-aged children but open to everyone,” says Teri Souter, the Town’s Manager of Arts, Culture and Heritage. “We want to encourage youth-to-youth exchange and interaction.”
The event has been held since 2001 but was formerly a sunrise celebration which, due to the timing, didn’t bring enough awareness, says Souter. For the past several years it has been a daytime event, open to all, offset from National Aboriginal Day. “That day is a holiday in First Nations communities. In order for them to participate it’s important for us to do it on a date when First Nations students are at school and can join us.”
At the heart of the event is a performance by the Little Spirit Singers, a group of elementary-aged girls from Wasauksing School who recently received the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Youth Achievement, accompanied by their teacher Deina Bomberry. “We are honoured that the Little Spirit Singers have agreed to come and share with us. Everyone is in for a real treat,” says Souter. “We also hope to welcome Senator Verna Porter-Brunelle of the Métis Nation of Ontario and our Inuit friend Peter Irniq.”
(Above) The Little Spirit Singers are a highlight of Huntsville’s National First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Celebration
The event also focuses on the messages of the Unity button and The Seven Grandfather Teachings.
“One of the teachings I was given by First Nations elders is about the Unity button. The teaching is purported to have come with the people when they came from the stars and they’ve had it forever,” says Souter. “It teaches that the world is round, that there are four directions, that each of the four directions have gifts, teachings and medicine particular to that race of people. The four races sit in harmony inside the wheel: no one is bigger than the other and that is part of respecting traditions.”
“The Seven Grandfathers Teachings is a code of what you’re supposed to do. It is a spiritual code – you can belong to any religion and still embrace it.”
The Seven Grandfathers Teachings
To cherish knowledge is to know WISDOM.
To know LOVE is to know peace.
To honour all of the Creations is to have RESPECT.
BRAVERY is to face the foe with integrity.
HONESTY in facing a situation is to be brave.
HUMILITY is to know yourself as a sacred part of the Creation.
TRUTH is to know all of these things.
(The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Banai)
“Indigenous people have a lot of wisdom to impart,” says Souter. “I hope that one day the children that meet each other at this event may think of each other and with respect work together to solve our significant social and environmental challenges.”
Terry Sahanatien from the Wahta Mohawks (above left), and Ben Cousineau and Beedahsiga Elliot (above right, from left) share teachings with attendees at the 2015 First Nations, Métis and Inuit Celebration.
In respect of Mother Earth, the event is zero waste with a ‘pack it in and pack it out’ philosophy. Attendees are encouraged to bring water, sunscreen and a hat, a blanket or chair to sit on, and a picnic lunch or plan to visit the local retailers within walking distance of River Mill Park.
The celebration will run rain or shine, with the Algonquin Theatre as back up in the event of poor weather.
Information on Muskoka’s First People is always available in the Muskoka Museum. Its pre-contact artifacts include a lanceolate point considered to be 7,000 to 10,000 years old. That’s older than the pyramids in Egypt (which are 4,000 years old).
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