Combined effort for Indigenous Day celebrations

Craig Bakay | Jun 26, 2019

June 21 was Aboriginal Day across Canada and locally, Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation combined with EarlyON to join in the celebrations at Oso Beach in Sharbot Lake.

Shabot Obaadjiwan Chief Doreen Davis was visibly enjoying the proceedings, which she confirmed when asked if she was enjoying herself.

“I am,” she said. “This is a joint venture, a collaboration between aboriginal groups and EarlyON.

“We’re bringing knowledge, customs and teachings and they’re bringing funding and education.

“It’s a huge blending of resources and it’s about the little ones.

“Five of my 10 grandchildren are here.”

Aboriginal Day is about sharing culture and building bridges toward reconciliation.

Davis said they’re starting to do just that and she’s looking forward to more joint ventures in the future.

“We want to continue our relationship with the snowshoe program,” she said. “And we’d like to get kids involved in making birch bark canoes.

“We also have an outdoor facility at the cultural centre near the White Lake Fish Hatchery that we’d like to make available in the summer so kids can have activities outdoors instead of having to be inside buildings. We’re looking at two dates in July and two dates in August.”

Rural Frontenac Community Services executive director Louise Moody said they too have found the relationship with Shabot Obaadjiwan mutually beneficial.

“Rural Frontenac Community Services is fully supportive of the partnership between Shabot Obaadjiwan and EarlyOn,” she said. “Aboriginal Day continues to become an important event on June 21 and we appreciate the leadership of Chief Doreen and Marcie (Asselstine) from our staff.”

The day featured a variety of drumming events, crafting/beading, interactive children’s stories with puppets and the Algonquin Strawberry Teaching Ceremony shared by Kokum Makwa.