In a week, a teepee will go up on the grounds of the Wellington County Museum and Archives, as the site gets ready to host the Aboriginal Heritage Festival (AHF), a celebration of First Nations, Inuit and Metis culture.
The event takes place over two days: April 19 for high school students from across the region and beyond, and April 20 for a community event.
The AHF is held in conjunction with the Centre Wellington District High School (CWDHS) Aboriginal Club, which created the festival as an all-inclusive event in the spirit of culture and education for both Aboriginal groups and non-Aboriginal people. Bringing the groups together, through interactive workshops, displays and open dialogue, the event will include music, art and Aboriginal foods to experience.
New this year is the creation and presentation of two awards.
The Aboriginal Heritage Youth Award will be presented posthumously to Shannen Koostachin, whose young life ended tragically in 2010, the year after she was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize. Koostachin was well known for her fight for a new school for Attawapiskat, which took her to the steps of Parliament Hill in 2008. Accepting the award in her honour will be Shannen’s sister, Serena Koostachin.
On Community Day, the Aboriginal Heritage Award will be presented to Chief Theresa Spence, of Attawapiskat First Nation, who received much media attention after declaring a hunger strike to focus public attention on First Nations issues, support the Idle No More indigenous rights movement, and highlight concerns regarding Bill C-45. According to organizers, Spence was the unanimously chosen recipient for the first annual Heritage Award. She will accept the honour at 1:30pm on April 20.
Education Day is 9am to 3pm on April 19, with admission set at $3 per student. The community event is April 20 from 11am to 5pm, with admission by donation. All proceeds will go to support the Southern Ontario Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative.
For more information contact Jack Frimeth at 519-843-2500 ext. 522 or j_frimeth@hotmail.com or visit www.ugdsb.on.ca/cwdhs.
