OTTAWA - National Aboriginal Day celebrations took place across the country Saturday, honouring the cultural contributions of First Nation, Inuit and Metis people.
First proclaimed 12 years ago by a Liberal government, National Aboriginal Day is held on June 21 because of the cultural significance of the first day of summer, the longest day of the year and the rebirth of Mother Earth.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, attending the Toronto International Dragon Boat Race, said the day recognizes the immense contribution Aboriginal Peoples have made to the social, economic and cultural fabric of Canadian society.
This year's celebration comes less than two weeks after Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized on behalf of the government for the legacy of residential schools, where many young aboriginal people suffered abuse and neglect.
Dion paid special tribute to some of the individuals who made the apology possible, including Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, who is himself a survivor of the residential school tragedy.
Harper issued a statement Friday that boasts of significant progress on a range of aboriginal issues, including land claims, education, housing, child and family services, safe drinking water, economic opportunity and the extension of human rights protection to First Nations individuals on reserves.
Ceremonies in Prince Edward Island on Saturday featured performers from the Island's Mi'kmaq community.
The Lone Wolf Singers, a girls' drum band from P.E.I.'s Lennox Island First Nation, performed at a free barbecue in Summerside.
In Nova Scotia, former premiers John Hamm and Russell MacLellan were slated to attend a film screening at the Millbrook First Nation near Truro, N.S.
