Indigenous groups celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day in Windsor

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We are here.

That was Sharon George’s message to Windsor-Essex on National Indigenous Peoples Day Tuesday as she and more than 100 others celebrated under a blue sky at Mic Mac Park. As interim executive director of the Can-Am Indian Friendship Centre, George said she hears all too often that people don’t realize the region is home to thousands of Indigenous individuals.

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“We have a huge population here in Windsor,” George said, estimating about 6,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people live in the area. “I want people to know that we are here, that we’re celebrating our culture, that we’re celebrating who we are as a people.”

In addition to food, games, and conversation, Indigenous groups offered information to attendees about various services available in the community. Connie DaSilva, early years program lead with the Ska:na Family Learning Center, spoke with parents about indigenous-led programs for young children.

“We’ve known this community for many years,” said DaSilva, who was excited to participate in the gathering after the pandemic forced people apart.

With so many heartbreaking stories about missing and murdered indigenous women and discoveries of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at former Indian Residential School sites, DaSilva said it’s “nice to be celebrated, rather than being thought of as a community that everyone feels bad about.

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“There’s a lot more positive things in the Indigenous community. It’s not just about the sad story. We are also happy people, people of celebration and culture.”

In honor of June as Indigenous History Month, Museum Windsor is showing a temporary exhibition, Changing the Landcape of Windsor-Essex: The McKee Treaty, which includes a display of the original No. 2 Treaty, also known as the McKee Treaty, on loan from Library and Archives Canada. The treaty was negotiated between the British and the Three Fires Confederacy and Huron (Wyandot) and was signed at Detroit in 1790.

Also at the museum, guests can visit the Original Peoples Culture and Legacy Gallery permanent exhibition, which reflects the culture, heritage, and contemporary issues of the local First Nations and Métis communities.

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Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island is also commemorating National Indigenous Month with an online list of attractions and points of interest in the region that relate to Indigenous history. The list is accessible at visitwindsoressex.com.

In a written statement on Tuesday, Governor General Mary Simon, wished all Canadians a “wonderful and reflective” National Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

“Although much progress has been made in recent years, there is still much work to be done as we travel the road of reconciliation,” Simon said. “We all approach reconciliation from different perspectives, and its definition is fluid depending on who you ask.”

As an Inuk woman, Simon continued, “I am proud that Indigenous peoples are telling their stories. Our collective history cannot be told without Indigenous voices. And it cannot be told without some hard conversations.”

Simon encouraged all Canadians to learn about and share the “important role each diverse Indigenous community plays in our past, present, and future.”

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