Take part in National Aboriginal Day activities

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People from across the country will gather on June 21 to mark National Aboriginal Day, proclaimed in 1996 by former governor general Romeo LeBlanc to celebrate the contributions made by Aboriginal people to Canadian society, and to recognize the different cultures of Aboriginal people across Canada.

June 21 was chosen as the date for National Aboriginal Day to coincide with the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, a time already celebrated by many Aboriginal people.

"The events this year are basically mostly the same as last year. Some of them are a little bit bigger, some of them have a bit more people attending or a different twist, but it's basically the same," said Jean Ouellet, national co-ordinator for National Aboriginal Day.

Last year's celebrations took place from coast to coast. Among the many activities that took place were powwows, feasts, and performances by dancers, drummers and fiddlers, as well as hand game demonstrations, bannock bake-offs, fashion shows, demonstrations of traditional crafts, and workshops on trapping, fishing and hunting.

More than 25,000 people took part in National Aboriginal Day activities last year, with more than 250 events held across the country, Ouellet said.

A number of promotional materials have been created by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) for this year's celebrations. The posters distributed for last year's National Aboriginal Day are available again this year, along with postcards, a bookmark and a pamphlet.

New to this year's National Aboriginal Day materials is a children's activity book (see review). A children's game featuring fun facts about First Nations, Inuit and Metis people is also new out this year. A National Aboriginal Day screensaver is also available, and can be downloaded onto your PC for free from INAC's Web site at . The promotional materials can be ordered online or by calling (819) 997-0380.

A list of events planned across the country can be found on the Web site as well. A new feature of the Web site this year is that if you know of an event that is happening but isn't listed, you can e-mail it in and get it added to the list.