Rain or shine, Aboriginal Day celebration was on

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The sky was overcast and the rain fell off and on as 150 people took part in the first ever National Aboriginal Day celebration in Elk Island National Park on June 21.

The White Buffalo dance group performed and Keith Lapatac of Saddle Lake emceed. Buffalo burgers, coffee and other refreshments kept the people going as they watched the dancers perform.

The event was sponsored by The Friends of Elk Island Society, a non-profit organization that works with the park. Their mandate is to promote the park with fund-raising events to support research, conservation and environmental issues.

Acting superintendent of Elk Island National Park, Laurie Guyot, welcomed the visitors.

"This is a very important day for us as this is our first annual Aboriginal Day celebration. We are very honored that you chose Elk Island National Park to hold the celebration. Aboriginal history is represented in many areas within the parks system, including archeological sites, old settlements, trails and places for gathering, and today we get to do that in helping to recreate history, in celebrating history, on National Aboriginal Day," she said.

Liz Watts, director of special events with Friends of the Elk Island, said that she sees this celebration as an opportunity to open the park for everyone and said that next year they want to make the celebration a two-day event, with a traditional powwow and more dancers.

"This is a beautiful place, but the general attendance to the park is small, so events like this are a good way to highlight the park and bring people in. We were expecting 3,000, but the weather was against us this year, but I'm looking to see more than 3,000 people attend next year's events," she said.

"I have a great respect for Aboriginal people and I've learned a lot about the Aboriginal people in just hosting this event. I learned so much from the Elders about the ceremonies involved. It is wonderful," said Watts.

For 97 years the park has helped in preserving endangered and threatened animals. Established in 1906, it is considered Canada's first federal wildlife sanctuary for large animals-elk, bison, moose, deer?and hundreds of bird species. In 1998, the Wood Bison Recovery Team began their goal of contributing $10,000 annually to the relocation of wood bison from the park to established self-sustaining, free roaming wild herds.

The park is open May through August. Special events include a nation-wide hiking event for the whole family called 'Take a Hike' held annually in July. Located 45 km east of Edmonton, the park attracts visitors from all over the world. It has more than 1,000 metres of trails, camping facilitates and offers canoes for rent.