Ceremony, art marks National Indigenous Peoples Day in Winnipeg

Lines of people in ribbon skirts and traditional wares held hands and walked through The Forks Wednesday afternoon during a powwow to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Tipis marked the grounds of the national historic site and voices wailed the songs of their ancestors. Strips of colourful leather regalia bounced off the bodies as attendees danced to the traditional sounds.

“It’s nice to see people healing,” said Wayne Mason Jr, organizer of the powwow, at the grounds of The Forks as drums beat to the tune of ceremonial songs.

“That’s what all of our ceremonies is about — not just about the healing of ourselves, but this country.”

That healing comes after Indigenous people faced over a century of oppression under the Indian Act and residential school systems, with some seeing the tide finally turning.

As the 94 calls to action from the Truth & Reconciliation Commission are addressed and agencies are reckoning with increasing numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women, Damon Johnston said Canada has come a long way as a nation but has a long way yet to go.

“It’s a beautiful country in many different ways, but it just has this sort of stain on its history in terms of Indigenous people,” the president of the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg said. “That’s what truth and reconciliation offers, for us to change that in positive ways.”

The largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art is housed At WAG-Qaumajuq, which continues to make room for more First Nations art.

They sold four silkscreen prints of Queen Elizabeth II painted by famous American pop artist Andy Warhol to buy more contemporary Indigenous art.

Indigenous art makes up for only just over one percent of the gallery’s entire portfolio.

Marie-Anne Redhead, assistant curator of Indigenous and contemporary art at WAG-Qaumajuq, is helping with the purchasing.

“We’re trying to go about it in a good way,” she said.

The gallery also hosted events in to celebrate the day in an effort to continue the conversation of honoring Indigenous art and culture.

“I want people to honor the long traditions that have made it here, and not just a superficial display of Indigenous culture, but a deep understanding and appreciation.”

To understand and appreciate starts with a conversation, Johnston said.

“It’s really that simple: you’ve got to talk to each other, engage with each other to get to know each other and break down stereotypes and myths about anybody,” he said.

“The door of opportunity, the wider it opens the better it is for everybody.”

— With files from Global News’ Marney Blunt