Londoners celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day with dancing, shopping and snacking

Hundreds of people packed the Wortley Village Green in London on Friday to enjoy music, dancing and eating while taking part in National Indigenous Solidarity Day celebrations, also called Solidarity Day.

"Solidarity Day is a day to come together, share teachings and celebrations. It's just a day to share space together," said jewelry maker Jolene Jamieson, who has been a vendor at the event for seven years.

This is the 29th year of the ceremony in Wortley, and some attendees said they've only seen attendance grow through the years. Crowds gathered throughout the day to shop for crafts made by Indigenous vendors, eat cuisine like corn soup and fry bread, and participating in dances.

Following an early morning sunrise ceremony, main activities at the Green began at 11 a.m. when a large circle of onlookers gathered to watch dancers and the eagle staff carrier kick off the day.

Michael Hopkins, a traditional fire keeper for N'Amerind Friendship Centre, helped light a fire early Friday morning, which stayed burning throughout the event.

Hopkins said this National Indigenous People's Day, it's important to emphasize the need for young people to carry on Indigenous traditions.

"Every year when we do it, more younger ones are coming out and picking it up," he said, adding that he's noticed many youth are interested in learning traditional songs and Indigenous languages. "We're teaching and we're educating the younger ones so they can get a bigger crowd and they can be able to take over to do what we do."

While activities happened on the Green Friday, National Indigenous Peoples Day is officially celebrated on June 21 alongside summer solstice.

"It [symbolizes] changing. Sometimes it's the start of the new moon," Hopkins explained, adding that the summer solstice is also the longest day of the year.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities have historically celebrated their culture during this season, but it wasn't until 1996 that Governor General Roméo LeBlanc declared June 21 as National Aboriginal Day, according to the Government of Canada website. The day was renamed in 2017.

"I've been coming since I was a little kid," said Patricia Marshal-Desutter, who said she now brings her own children to the event. "When I was a kid, there were a lot less people, but now it's booming, like hundreds of people are here right now.

"Now, we actually see solidarity here, which is beautiful," she said.

There's a lot of enthusiasm among young Indigenous students to learn about their own culture at local schools, according to Thames Valley District School Board learning coordinator Kathleen Doxtator.

"They're eager to have opportunities to not just meet other Indigenous students, but to feel connected and to feel supported to their identity," said Doxtator, who is from Oneida Nation of the Thames.

Doxtator said another theme of this year's Solidarity Day celebrations is calling for more push back against federal Bill C-5, which essentially gives the government the ability to pick certain economic projects where they can speed through the regulatory processes.

"A lot of government legislation is affecting Indigenous rights," she said. "We only have one earth and we only have one time to be alive, advocate, speak up, give our voices to those things that can't speak, and hold people accountable for their actions," she said.

Despite the timely fight against the proposed bill, Doxtator said the typical values of Solidarity Day still ring true this year.

"Every year it's around community, it's around connection, it's around family reconnecting and opportunity," she said.