Ask what they do to celebrate their heritage and you'll find that most don't do anything at all.

Fortunately, whether you're indigenous to North America or not, Canadians will soon have the opportunity to participate in Canada's largest celebration of culture and heritage -- National Aboriginal Day.

"It's a unique day to celebrate the contributions of aboriginal people in the NWT," said Barb Labelle, Northern Aboriginal Day volunteer organizer.

You don't need to be aboriginal to share in the celebration, she added.

"Our hope is that everybody comes out and celebrates the contributions of aboriginal people and experiences the cultural uniqueness and cultural foods."

This year, nearly every community in the territories will be participating in the summer solstice festival, though not necessarily on June 21.

For generations, aboriginal people have celebrated their culture and heritage on or near summer solstice, June 21, a day recognized by cultures around the world for millennia. Some groups in the NWT, such as the Inuvialuit, celebrate a little earlier in accordance with established regional custom.

The northern-specific theme to the June 21 event is "Aboriginal Community Feast and Celebration: Teaching and Learning the Ways of our Culture."

Across the North, people will be feasting and celebrating in much the same way.

"We'll be having a community day on the land," said Gunnar Paulson, manager of the Wha Ti band office. Paulson said some of the activities planned are legend-telling, traditional food preparation, kids games, canoe races and traditional hand games.

In Pangnirtung, a display of traditional clothing, hunting tools and equipment and sewing items are planned, as are outdoor games.

Across Canada, June 21 will be a day to learn more about the culture of our neighbors, co-workers and friends.

It will afford the chance for elders to tell legends about the old ways, to allow fiddlers, drummers and singers to bring history to life through song and dance and for people, both aboriginal and non-aboriginal, to learn more about a culture that is so uniquely Canadian.