In-person National Indigenous People’s Day celebrations return to Winnipeg this weekend

Indigenous Day live event returns Following a pandemic hiatus, APTN’s National Indigenous Day celebrations return to The Forks on Saturday.

Three years after their last in-person gathering, organizers are buzzing about being able to bring people together in-person once again to celebrate Canada’s Indigenous people.

Indigenous Day Live, the celebration for National Indigenous People’s Day, takes place on Saturday at The Forks.

Adam Garnet Jones, director of TV content and special events with APTN, said he is looking forward to the event coming back for people to attend in-person.

“I can feel the excitement building and I can't wait to see people start to stream in on Saturday after a couple of years of not doing this event live, of not gathering live,” he said. “It's going to be incredible to celebrate. We have so few opportunities, I think, on the broadcast calendar to celebrate all the things that are incredible about Indigenous life and Indigenous artists. And so I'm happy we're all able to get together and do that in person again.”

This year, the theme of the event is “Celebrate our Land,” which is part of the new thematic approach the event is taking post-pandemic, Jones said.

“When we were thinking about that, the natural place for us to start is land,” he said. “Land unites Indigenous people. It is where so many ceremonies start, so many teachings start, everything comes back to the land. And so, it felt appropriate for all of us to gather and celebrate and gratitude for all the lands that we come from.”

At the event this year, women and 2SLGBTQ+ artists and performers will be featured. In Winnipeg, attendees will see performances from drag queen group the Bannock Babes; Tomson Highway; the Ivan Flett Memorial Dancers, female drum group Southern Thunderbird Medicine Drum and powwow dancers from Treaty 1 Territory.

"There's this innate connection between women and Two-Spirit people and the land,” Jones said. “There's a connection between the Earth, as Mother Earth is a kind of a generative force and they felt and talked about how their teachings reflected a kind of a mirroring with women and Two-Spirit people, so it was a natural fit for the theme.”

Pre-show celebrations kick off at 6 p.m., with main-stage performances starting at 9 p.m. The celebration is free to attend.

Those unable to watch the event in-person can watch on APTN’s television channel or YouTube page. Performances can also be heard on participating Indigenous radio stations.