Guide to Indian Country - June, 2001 Celebrate National Aboriginal Day Clelebrations across the country Blending the traditional with the contemporary Northern artists shine at festival An experience to share in Saskatchewan Métis culture showcased at award-winning festival Portrait of a jingle dress dancer Wild West meets tranquil getaway Tourists take to the land Blessed waters pilgrimage held at Beaver Lake Largest tipi in the world guard against loss of culture Majestic beast making a comeback in Wood Buffalo Learning traditions through the trails Atlantic festival shows art from coast to coast Quebec destinations celebrate identity History of the West lives on

WINDSPEAKER'S ABORIGINAL TOURISM SUPPLEMENT Phone: (780) 455-2700Fax (780) 455-7639 Email: edwind@ammsa.com Celebrate National Aboriginal Day By Cheryl Petten Windspeaker Staff Writer People from across the country will gather on June 21 to mark National Aboriginal Day, proclaimed in 1996 by former governor general Roméo LeBlanc to celebrate the contributions made by Aboriginal people to Canadian society, and to recognize the different cultures of Aboriginal people across Canada. June 21 was chosen as the date for National Aboriginal Day to coincide with the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, a time already celebrated by many Aboriginal people. "The events this year are basically mostly the same as last year. Some of them are a little bit bigger, some of them have a bit more people attending or a different twist, but it's basically the same," said Jean Ouellet, national co-ordinator for National Aboriginal Day. Last year's celebrations took place from coast to coast. Among the many activities that took place were powwows, feasts, and performances by dancers, drummers and fiddlers, as well as hand game demonstrations, bannock bake-offs, fashion shows, demonstrations of traditional crafts, and workshops on trapping, fishing and hunting. More than 25,000 people took part in National Aboriginal Day activities last year, with more than 250 events held across the country, Ouellet said. A number of promotional materials have been created by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) for this year's celebrations. The posters distributed for last year's National Aboriginal Day are available again this year, along with postcards, a bookmark and a pamphlet. New to this year's National Aboriginal Day materials is a children's activity book (see review). A children's game featuring fun facts about First Nations, Inuit and Métis people is also new. A National Aboriginal Day screensaver is also available, and can be downloaded onto your PC for free from INAC's Web site at <http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nad>. The promotional materials can be ordered online or by calling (819) 997-0380. A list of events planned across the country can be found on the Web site as well. A new feature this year is that if you know of an event that is happening but isn't listed, you can e-mail it in and get it added to the list. BOOK REVIEW Sharing the Celebration! Learning and Activity Guide Published by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Contact for copies- Email: learningcircle @inac.gc.ca Fax: (819) 953-3017 By Anna Petten Windspeaker Contributor EDMONTON National Aboriginal Day is about people celebrating the culture of Inuit, Métis and First Nations people. It is celebrated on the first day of summer. I learned lots of stuff about National Aboriginal Day from the book "Share in the Celebration." It has good recipes in it. It also has lots of fun activities. It tells you how to make braided bracelets. There are two fun games you can play. There's a story in it called "The Great Festival of Light," with animals and humans celebrating summer solstice. I learned that the first day of summer was on June 21, and that Aboriginal people come together to celebrate their culture. I learned that Aboriginal people use trees to make medicine. My favorite thing about the book was the recipes. There are recipes for fried bannock, salmon chowder, sunshine soup, coureur de bois casserole, apple sauce and frogs' legs. (The recipe said you could use real frogs' legs or chicken wings. If I were you, I would choose the chicken wings.) It was a good book. I really liked it.