Aboriginal awesomeness

Veteran and Elder Tom Saville leads Elder and Grandmother Lorraine Liberty and Elder Richard Assinewai during the honour song.

Celebrating Aboriginal heritage was what the gathering at the North Bay Indian Friendship Centre (NBIFC) on Cassells Street was all about Saturday.

Community members along with the NBIFC staff gathered with their brothers and sisters across the nation to celebrate Aboriginal Day with an open house, BBQ and traditional drum ceremony.

“Traditionally we prayed together, feasted together and there was drumming and dancing and games,’ says NBIFC Board Chair Cathy Valiquette.

“We are doing nothing different today, we are keeping the tradition ... we are celebrating the same thing Aboriginal awesomeness.”

The NBIFC works tirelessly to create a cultural awareness to external agencies and to the people who provide services for Aboriginal people in the community. And the National Aboriginal day offers another opportunity for everyone to understand the culture and to build partnerships and educate people about the Aboriginal way of life and share the culture with the mainstream culture.