LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Fort Simpson will have some additional guests at its Aboriginal Day celebrations this year.

NWT Premier Floyd Roland and his counterparts from B.C., Yukon, Alberta, Nunavut, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are taking a day away from their Western Premiers' Conference in Yellowknife to visit the Deh Cho on June 21.

The second day of the annual conference is usually used to showcase the highlights of whichever province or territory the meeting is being held in, said Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche.

The Nahanni National Park Reserve was chosen for this year's tour. The premiers and their delegates, a group of 42 people, will receive an official welcome by local leaders at the Fort Simpson airport on that morning before being taken to a local floatbase and flown to the park.

The premiers also requested to participate in some Aboriginal Day celebrations. Fort Simpson was chosen as the logical community because it's the departure point for the park, Menicoche said.

A committee including Menicoche and representatives from the village, Liidlii Kue First Nation, the Fort Simpson Metis Nation, the Deh Cho Friendship Centre, the Open Sky Creative Society and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs have been planning for the premiers' visit since mid-March.

The agenda and activities the premiers and their delegates will participate in were finalized during a meeting on May 27.

"The goal is to showcase the aboriginal culture," Menicoche said.

The premiers will arrive at the papal site at approximately 3:30 p.m. where they will be publicly welcomed by Chief Jim Antoine and gifts will be exchanged. The premiers will then take part in a question and answer session with some pre-chosen Deh Cho youth.

After the discussions the entertainment will include performances by the Metis youth dancers and local fiddlers as well as a handgames demonstration that the premiers will be invited to join in. The premiers and the delegates will also be given a variety of traditional food to sample.

The Aboriginal and Intergovernmental Affairs Department of the territorial government has provided a $15,000 contribution for the event. The money is being used to enhance the celebrations that would normally be held for Aboriginal Day, Menicoche said.

The usual events, including canoe races and Dene games, are happening earlier in the day and Liidlii Kue First Nation is looking for volunteers to help throughout the day.

The premiers' visit is a chance for Fort Simpson to shine, said Mayor Sean Whelly.

"We're a traditional meeting place so we're good hosts," he said.

The visit will bring the media spotlight on the village, Whelly said. While Whelly doesn't expect the visit to have large economic spinoffs for the village, it may encourage some people to consider Fort Simpson as a tourism destination, especially because of Virginia Falls and the park, he said.

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