Reconciliation takes centre stage for Canada 150
Country still experiencing growing pains, says North Slave Metis Alliance president Bill Enge
Kirsten Fenn
Northern News Services
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
NWT leaders shared messages of hope for reconciling with Canada's past while working to build a better future as they opened the Canada 150 festivities at Somba K'e Civic Plaza Saturday afternoon.
Yellowknife Mayor Mark Heyck opens the Canada Day festivities at Somba K'e Civic Plaza on Saturday afternoon with a speech about Canada's diversity and the need to work toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. - Kirsten Fenn/NNSL photo
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It was a full house for the activities at the park, where residents were treated to a performance by the Yellowknives Dene Drummers before participating in a re-affirmation ceremony by reading the oath of citizenship together as a crowd.
"When we look to the future, while we remember our past successes, we also have to recognize our past mistakes as a country and rectify those mistakes," said Yellowknife Mayor Mark Heyck, who was the first to take the stage. "Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in this country is going to be a massive challenge for this country, but I think people in Yellowknife, people in the Northwest Territories are absolutely leading the way in that reconciliation and I know we can do it."
Heyck cited the diversity of faces at the Canada Day events, a huge community drum dance held in June for Aboriginal Day and the rainbow sidewalk outside city hall celebrating the LGBTQ community as just a few examples of why Canada stands for "welcome, inclusivity, diversity."
"That, to me, is Canada," Heyck said.
For NWT Premier Bob McLeod, Canada is also about co-operation and working together. McLeod followed up Heyck's speech by adding the NWT is built on those same foundations.
He described Canada as a diverse nation where people from around the world make their home alongside First Nations, Inuit and Metis people.
And as Canada moves toward reconciliation, he said: "It is important to remember that before there was a Canada, there was a land that had been occupied and managed by aboriginal people for millennia."
Before leading the Yellowknives Dene Drummers into song, Dettah Chief Edward Sangris had his own message to share about moving forward.
"We have to reconcile our differences from the past and change the views of Canadians today so that our future citizens will be proud to call Canada home," Sangris said. "We have to change our history so that it will not be repeated and have negative effects into the future."
While colonization has come with challenges, said Bill Enge, president of the North Slave Metis Alliance, he pointed out it led to the creation of the Metis people, which he described as a positive thing.
"When Canada first became a country, the historic Metis people were - among other things - the middle men of the fur trade, trappers, explorers, entrepreneurs, hunters and trappers, patriots and statesmen," Enge said.
It was the land of indigenous people that provided European colonizers with the means to start Canada in the first place, he said.
"Our roots are deep and we are here to stay," said Enge, who added Canada is still experiencing growing pains before it reaches its full potential.
"With that in mind, we look forward to continuing to share our traditional lands with aboriginal and non-aboriginal people alike in a peaceful, respectful and harmonious way."
