Several activities will be held at the urban reserve in La Ronge and Patterson Park. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

pride

La Ronge celebrates National Indigenous Peoples Day

Jun 21, 2024 | 2:46 PM

There’s plenty of things to do for National Indigenous Peoples Day in La Ronge.

The day began with a Treaty Six flag raising ceremony in Patterson Park, followed by a pipe ceremony at 9 a.m. A Cree language festival and cultural village started at 10 a.m. and an honour walk from the Lac La Ronge Indian Band office to the downtown urban reserve commenced at 11 a.m.

During noon hour, an opening prayer and remarks were held with local leadership such as Chief Tammy Cook-Searson and La Ronge Mayor Joe Hordyski in attendance. Throughout the afternoon, there will be children’s and youth activities, as well as traditional teachings.

Métis musician Donny Parenteau and friends will conduct a performance between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. and the celebration will end at 5 p.m. with a fish fry supper.

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Cook-Searson explained all tri-community residents are welcome to join the festivities.

“It is important to recognize and celebrate the rich culture and history of our Indigenous members,” she said.

“I think about my late parents and grandparents and my great grandparents and, for or us to be here, they endured a lot, but they had a lot of resilience and strength and to be who we are today, so we have to celebrate the rich culture and history, the beautiful land and territory we have and the way of life.

An honour walk from the band office to the urban reserve began at 11 a.m. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

Several activities such as a cultural village are being held this afternoon. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

Furs and other items are on display for the public. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

Attendees have a chance to watch demonstrations such as paddle making. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

Cook-Searson noted most community members in her generation were brought up on the trapline. She added there’s been a lot of setbacks that impacted them, including the residential school era and discriminative federal and provincial policies and laws.

“Being able to survive that and all the different things that happened to our community members, we are still here, we are still strong and resilient,” Cook-Searson said.

National Indigenous Peoples Day is held every year on June 21. It is an opportunity for Canadians to celebrate the cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com