June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day, and it is a civic holiday in the NWT and in Yukon. Hooray for the NWT and Yukon governments.

So, yeah, June 21 is National Indigenous Day, but what does that mean?

In the words of former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, SA国际影视传媒淚t is an opportunity for all of us to celebrate our respect and admiration for First Nations, for Inuit, for M茅tis SA国际影视传媒� for the past, the present and the future.SA国际影视传媒� Well yaaaaa!

A friend of mine, who wants to remain anonymous, recently told me SA国际影视传媒淗ereSA国际影视传媒檚 an idea about respect, letSA国际影视传媒檚 all STAY SOBER on June 21.SA国际影视传媒� Say what? Yeah, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 right, my friendSA国际影视传媒檚 idea is for us to all stay sober on National Indigenous Peoples Day!

What a brilliant idea! LetSA国际影视传媒檚 do something different, something with meaning!

LetSA国际影视传媒檚 stay sober while we celebrate our heritage. We can do it in recognition of earlier generations that did not drink at all until alcohol was brought to the NWT by people like Sir John Franklin.

Or we can stay sober in honour of someone in our family who never drank SA国际影视传媒� like my mom.

I suspect that the average personSA国际影视传媒檚 SA国际影视传媒渞espect and admirationSA国际影视传媒� for Indigenous people would be negatively influenced by going downtown and seeing groups of Indigenous people who are drunk and yelling and swearing at each other. Not cool.

So yeah, letSA国际影视传媒檚 do it together or challenge each other to SA国际影视传媒渁llSA国际影视传媒� stay sober on Indigenous Peoples Day, and by all, I do mean everybody.

We Indigenous people can stay sober to show pride and support for each other while we celebrate our heritage. We can teach others about our culture, or go out on the land, be with family, children and friends. Very cool.

Non-Indigenous people can also stay sober and participate in the festivities at Yellowknife River hosted by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, or the fish fry put on by the North Slave Metis Alliance at Somba KSA国际影视传媒檈 Park.

But take it one step further and introduce yourself to an Aboriginal person. Get to know your neighbor, be curious and ask questions, lots of questions. We donSA国际影视传媒檛 bite. Eschia!

Come to the Yellowknife River, meet the Yellowknives Dene, and thank them for welcoming you to their territory. Then dance the night away.

The Birth of Indigenous PeopleSA国际影视传媒檚 Day

National Aboriginal Day was proclaimed in 1996, after a lot of hard work by Aboriginal people. For instance, as far back as 1982, the Assembly of First Nations, then called the National Indian Brotherhood, lobbied to create National Aboriginal Solidarity Day.

They chose June 21 to celebrate because thatSA国际影视传媒檚 when many Indigenous groups traditionally celebrate their heritage.

In 1995, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, co-chaired by Georges Erasmus of Yellowknife, recommended the designation of a National First Peoples Day.

Later that year, Elijah Harper chaired a national conference of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people called The Sacred Assembly, and it also called for a national holiday to celebrate the contributions of Aboriginal peoples. Mahsi, Elijah.

The following year, in 1996, Canada celebrated its first National Aboriginal Day on June 21.

And guess what? In 2001, the Northwest Territories became the first jurisdiction in Canada to recognize June 21 as a statutory holiday when the Legislative Assembly passed the National Aboriginal Day Act. Woohoo!

Later, in 2017, several young people tried to organize a huge drum dance, with 200 drummers from across the North, to celebrate National Aboriginal Day at Somba KSA国际影视传媒檈 Park. The plan was to later assemble at Yellowknife River and sing and dance all night long.

This was a great idea that, unfortunately, didnSA国际影视传媒檛 pan out. But some of us are talking about reviving this idea for June 21, 2023 SA国际影视传媒� next year. We would have a year to plan and secure resources to hold the biggest drum dance in the history of the NWT!

To boot, it would be a totally sober drum dance. All right!

We all have a lot to celebrate, and letSA国际影视传媒檚 make National Indigenous Peoples Day a time to celebrate our heritage while we are sober. Mahsi.