Activities planned to celebrate Indigenous Day

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Eagle Flight Drum and Singers will be the highlight of activities planned for Indigenous Peoples Day.

Taking place on Sunday, June 21, in Memorial Park, the annual event is organized by the Tillsonburg and District Historical Society. Held on a weeknight last year, the event is being held on National Indigenous Peoples Day this year.

The theme of this year's event will be Indigenous culture. Eagle Flight Singers and Dancers, led by Gordon Nicotine Sands is the main attraction, but there are also vendors with Indigenous food and crafts.

Historical society president Dave Morris said the food vendor was so popular last year that they ran out of food. He hopes it will continue to attract those who want to sample Indigenous food. On the craft vendor front, he said that having the event on National Indigenous Peoples Day has increased competition among craftspeople.

“What we’re finding is the craftspeople are going to long-standing celebrations they have,” he said. “We may not have as many craftspeople this year as we did last year.”

With the event falling on Turtlefest weekend, Morris is hopeful the hype will build and more local residents will attend. He encouraged people to bring lawn chairs as bleacher seating is available, but limited.

The event is free thanks to a federal grant. The grounds open at 12:30 p.m., with the opening ceremonies with local officials at 2 p.m., and the Eagle Flight performance to follow.