Today is Canada’s 20th annual National Aboriginal Day and to mark it Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended a sunrise ritual wearing moccasins and a buckskin jacket. These belonged to his father, the late and former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau who wore them often on travels by canoe in the north.
Ceremonial smoke was part of the smudging ceremony attended by the prime minister, the minister for indigenous affairs, the justice minister who is herself indigenous, as well as other members of Parliament and aboriginal leaders. The ritual took place outside Canada’s Museum of History in Gatineau across the Ottawa river from the nation’s capital, Ottawa.
Art, culture ‘essential to our sense of nationhood’
Trudeau did not speak at the ceremony, but he issued a statement:
“National Aboriginal Day is first and foremost an occasion to celebrate the fundamental role First Nations, Metis, and Inuit have played — and continue to play — in shaping the identity of all Canadians,” the statement said.
“Coast to coast to coast, their remarkable art and cultures, significant contributions and history, are essential to our sense of nationhood.”
Trudeau referred to suicides that have occurred in aboriginal communities adding that governments should better support communities and improve education and health services.
(from Canadian Press)
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