Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement marked National Indigenous Peoples Day June 21, and they invited 120 students from Boyle School, along with most of the faculty members, to join them in the celebrations.
Deana Auger, the settlement's director of finance, said the event went really well.
"(Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater) MLA Colin Piquette was in attendance," said Auger. "As well, we had Omer Moghrabi and Hank Holowaychuk, the mayors of Lac La Biche and Smoky Lake, respectively, and members of our own council attend as well."
Besides Boyle School, Auger added that Caslan School also brought a busload of students over for the event.
"It was a really, really good day," Auger said. "The weather was perfect, we had lunch served for everybody, with options of hamburgers, hot dogs and deep-fried fish. We also set up a stage with picnic tables in a huge, 40-by-80 white tent."
Boyle School principal Sharon Kucey said it was a really great experience for the students.
"Also for lunch, they had bannock on a stick," Kucey said. "They got to roast it by a fire that was going at the event. The kids had a lot of fun."
Kucey added there was lots of organized activities at the event.
"That included baseball and volleyball," she said. "Some of them even opted to just go out into the bush and explore the area. It was awesome."
Kucey said there was also a trader's tent set up at the event, so the students could learn more about the Métis people.
"The whole event was very well put together, and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely," she said. "The best part of the day for the students was that it was not really structured, which allowed them to go out and do what they wanted to do during the day. They all said they had lots of fun. The students from Caslan and Boyle Schools really got to interact with each other, and really enjoyed themselves."
Kucey also said that the attendees really enjoyed the music from the Indigenous band, the Black-Eyed Crees.
"They played mostly county music," Kucey said. "They also did some older country music, which brought back memories, and we all thought they were very good. We also had one of our students sing with her uncle, who was one of the members of the band. It was an awesome experience for both students and staff throughout the day."
Smith School
The occasion was also marked at Smith school, where school principal Brenna Liddell said students and staff created paper hearts, and placed them in one of two heart gardens located on the walls of their school.
"We did a little bit of remembering together as a group," Liddell said. "We also did a little bit of information around residential schools, then there was a short video presentation, and then each student and staff member planted their hearts."
Liddell added that each student created a lasting piece of remembrance going forward towards reconciliation.
"Indigenous issues mean a great deal, both in Smith and everywhere else," she said. "I think it's important for all Canadians to be aware of it, regardless of where we live. In the 13 years I have worked in the school, we do something every year to commemorate this occasion."
For lunch, Liddell said each participant was served stew and bannock, as well as a soup and bun lunch.
"It was a great day overall," she said. "One of our educational assistants, Lucy Dixon, was the lead for this year's school project, and she did a phenomenal job planning it for this year."
Athabasca
The Athabasca Native Friendship Centre held their celebration June 22, starting with a supper that included bannock at the Athabasca Seniors' Drop-in Centre, followed by a showing of the 2017 movie Indian Horse at the Nancy Appleby Theatre at 7 PM.
Renee Sibera, the centre's program co-ordinator, said the movie had lots of significance in terms of reconciliation.
"We had a really good turnout," Sibera said. "I'm happy to see all the people who came to watch, and it was a great event all around."
The movie was based on a novel written by the late Richard Wagamese in 2012, which centres around the character Saul Indian Horse, who at the age of six was taken to an Indian Residential School, and for the next 30 years, deals with the realities of racism, endurance and finally, reconciliation.
At the senior's centre, the Friendship Centre had two displays put up. One told attendees what the centre was all about, as well as what activities were coming up during the summer, while the other was a red dress display, which commemorates all the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women across Canada.
