Saskatoon celebrates National Indigenous Peoples Day

(Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

Wanuskewin welcomed many visitors on Saturday, as people gathered to recognize National Indigenous Peoples Day.

“Dancing, food, art, storytelling - all these different elements of culture we aim to showcase here. So, we want to really give people the opportunity to immerse themselves in culture,” said Andrew McDonald, co-executive director at Wanuskewin.

The day was filled with learning opportunities for visitors to the centre. One highlight was the chance to help process an elk hide.

“We’ve been softening and just processing one hide. We’re going to do a beavertail in a little bit. And then we just have all the different parts of the animal and kind of the processes that you can see it through,” said Brad Belisle, senior interpreter at Wanuskewin .

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The event was an opportunity to learn a bit about the history of how Indigenous people lived before colonization. Belisle said the resourcefulness and skill the first peoples had often surprises visitors.

“Just like amazement. Everything on the animals...they can be used and people just sometimes don’t have the knowledge of what they can be used for,” Belisle said.

Throughout the day, visitors could participate in various educational experiences catering to different learning styles.

“There’s something out here for everyone, so you can learn in a physical manner or just by watching - there’s something for everybody,” Belisle said.