Aboriginal Day celebrated

From coast to coast, thousands took part in aboriginal celebrations Sunday to mark National Aboriginal Day.

Locally, participants gathered on Leon Avenue, outside the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society, to join in on traditional First Nation activities and celebrate the culture.

June 21 is a day the Canadian government bills as a time to "celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures, and outstanding achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples of Canada."

“I acknowledge each and every one of you that woke up in this beautiful sunshine country, god bless your souls and your hearts,” shared Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society president Karen.

“Fill them with love today for the indigenous people who are becoming more and more proud, happy, educated and more giving. Some day, in the future somewhere, we will be better neighbours – more accepting of each other's ways of life and culture.”

While Premier Chirsty Clark was originally expected to be participating in yoga on a downtown Vancouver bridge, plans changed and she spoke to the crowd outside the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society on Sunday.

“We live in an incredibly beautiful and wealthy place,” said Clark. “One of the great challenges for us in this next decade is to be sure we live in a fairer place. That we share our wealth differently.”

“We have done, over the last 150 years, a magnificent job of turning resources into wealth – we have not done a good job of sharing it fairly with First Nations. That is something over the next decade that all of us will be challenged to do.”

The crowd also heard from MLA Norm Letnick and Kelowna city councillor Luke Stack, while several other political dignitaries were in the crowd.

The thousands of missing aboriginal women and men were also forefront at the event. With each speaker making note of the importance of remembering those who have been lost.

Earlier in the day, the bell at Cathedral Church of St. Michael and All Angels on Sutherland Avenue rang 1,122 times.

Parishioners and the public were invited to the church on National Aboriginal Day to take their turn ringing the bill in memory of the 1,122 missing and unaccounted First Nations women in Canada.

Guests were welcomed into the church by a local elder and then given the opportunity to ring the bell 10 times each.

St. Michaels was one of 30 Anglican cathedral churches in Canada scheduled to take part.

This annual day of recognition was first celebrated in 1996.