Saskatoon National Aboriginal Day celebrations mark 55th anniversary of Indigenous right to vote
- Fraser Needham | June 22, 2015
Whitecap Dakota First Nation Chief Darcy Bear says Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people were partners long before Canada’s Confederation and it is this partnership that will ensure the success of both communities into the future.
“It wasn’t just 1867 that someone flipped the switch and Canada was born,” he says. “We had humble beginnings prior to that and those humble beginnings were all about the spirit of alliance and working together. And that’s what formed this country and so we need to continue to work together.”
Chief Bear was speaking at National Aboriginal Day celebrations on June 21 at the University of Saskatchewan.
The outdoor festivities took place at the U of S Bowl and featured a number of speakers, traditional dancing and drumming.
The event also commemorated the 55th anniversary of First Nations people gaining the right to vote in Canadian elections.
The Whitecap Dakota leader cites the War of 1812 as just one example where First Nations and Métis people came together with other Canadians for the betterment of the country.
He notes the British were already overextended in the Napoleonic wars of the time and Canada was a nation of roughly 300,000 people compared to America at about 7 million.
Without Aboriginal help, Canada would have lost this war, Bear says.
“If we had lost that war, today we would have the United States flag flying over this nation but we didn’t lose that war.”
Nevertheless, Chief Bear says Canada’s early positive partnerships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people through the fur trade, treaties and War of 1812 were soured by the federal government’s imposition of the Indian Act.
He says both communities must now work together once again to rebuild that trust.
“That legislation was never meant for us to be inclusive in Canada. Even having the right to vote, it’s only been 55 years and Canada’s going to be marking its 150th anniversary in 2017 so that says a lot in itself. The Indian Act was created to never allow First Nations people be a part of the economy, it was created to segregate us, keep us out of sight, out of mind. And everybody else had an opportunity to build their infrastructure, build their economies, jobs and opportunities – we never had that same capability.”
Other featured speakers at the National Aboriginal Day celebrations included Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor Vaughn Solomon Schofield, University of Saskatchewan Interim President Gordon Barnhart and Saskatoon Mayor Don Atchison.
Mayor Atchison says the Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities have a long history of working together in the city noting the bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812 a few years ago as just one example of this.
He says he hopes to see many more similar partnerships well into the future.
“When I see everyone here today, celebrating culture, working together – this is what it is all about.”
This year’s National Aboriginal Day celebrations come on the heels of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee report which makes a number of recommendations on how the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people can be improved.