This year’s National Aboriginal Day celebrations will be be held for the first time on Saysutshun and Maffeo Sutton Park.
Newcastle Island, or Saysutshun, is the Snuneymuxw First Nation’s traditional place for healing and developing emotional and physical well-being.
On National Aboriginal Day on Wednesday (June 21), the Snuneymuxw celebrate their culture with live performances, traditional ceremonies, vendors and physical activities such as yoga, soccer, lacrosse and canoe races.
“This year our theme is health and wellness and from there stems a lot of our activities for the day, such as physical activities, nutrition and cultural health, so to speak, so we’ll have a brush-off and things like that with cedar boughs,” said Erralyn Thomas, Snuneymuxw councillor.
Snuneymuxw First Nation has taken a prominent role in managing business on the island and the Newcastle Island ferry service, Thomas said, so National Aboriginal Day is an opportunity to showcase Saysutshun and “bring it back into the community.”
Everyone is invited and to make sure people come over, the Newcastle Island Ferry crossing will be free from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.Events on Saysutshun will get started at noon and run until 3 p.m.
The fun continues at Maffeo Sutton Park, 4-8 p.m., when Snuneymuxw First Nation join with Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre and Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Vancouver Island to host more activities, live performers, arts and crafts, vendors and children’s activities and a salmon barbecue.
Chris Beaton, Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre executive director, said this is the fourth year the centre has celebrated National Aboriginal Day in partnership with other community organizations, but 2017 will be the first year it moves its celebrations to Maffeo Sutton.
“The last three years we’ve been been up at Bowen Park,” Beaton said. “So we’re up at Maffeo Sutton, which is a change of venue, which is great. I think it’s going to have an increased visibility in this city.”
Alex Wells, three-time world champion hoop dancer, is leading a troupe of four hoop dancers who are travelling from Kamloops. The 15-member T’sasala cultural group is arriving from Alert Bay to share their dance, songs and regalia.
Summer Sage, a Métis singing duet from Nanaimo, will take the stage, as will a performance group from the Snaw-naw-as First Nation, which will lead off the afternoon’s live performances.
First Nations carvers will be on site carving masks and a four-metre-tall house post. Visitors will also be able to witness how First Nation drums are crafted.
“It’s really important, I think, to underscore that this is a real celebration of Métis, First Nations and Inuit cultures that make up Canada’s aboriginal community, so you will see representatives from all three of those cultural groups,” Beaton said.
Beaton said there is no cost to attend the event which is made possible with financial sponsorship from the city, First Nations Health Authority and federal government.
“Without their support this would not be possible,” Beaton said.
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