Yellowknife celebrates National Indigenous Peoples Day

The North Slave Métis Alliance hosted its annual National Indigenous Peoples Day fish fry at Somba K’e Civic Plaza on Friday, with live music, dancing, and food served to thousands in attendance.

“You meet all kinds of different people every year from all over the place,” said Fred Mercredi, a Métis Elder.

“I think some people make a point of travelling to attend this. So it’s good, it’s been very successful for us.”

The event is attended annually by an estimated 7,000 people, said Jess Smart, NSMA’s manager of lands and culture. More than a hundred volunteers were on hand to prepare the food – about 4,000 pieces of bannock, 30 bins of corn, many cans of beans, and roughly 2,000 locally caught whitefish from Great Slave Lake. 

 “We have the same people come every single year, but then every year you have new people coming and getting to know the community and a little bit more about the North Slave Métis,” Smart said. “It’s very busy, but it’s a lot of fun.” 

Victor Mercredi, his three sons and two grandchildren attended the Friday afternoon event with a feeling of pride in being Indigenous. Every year for more than 15 years, he said, he has noticed the community become more engaged with the celebration.

Mercredi’s sons spent all morning flipping fish for a long lineup of attendees that stretched the length of Somba K’e Park and beyond the nearby RCMP detachment. 

“It just gives us a chance to showcase our background as Indigenous people in Canada and the Northwest Territories here. I’m very happy. I’m very proud to be a Métis here in the North,” he said.

Emily Harman was there with her daughters, Sophia and River, who are North Slave Métis. “This day means a lot to our family,” Harman said. “It’s a day to recognize what our culture means to us, our Elders, what they’ve passed down to us, our traditions, our cultural practices.” 

“I think it’s really important to ensure that our youth know and are empowered by their culture and be proud of who they are.”

Event coordinator Jo-Anne Taylor said volunteers started the barbecue at seven o’clock in the morning and began frying fish at eight. The team started wrapping up shortly after two in the afternoon.

Taylor has been involved with the annual celebration for almost 12 years. Through the years, she has enjoyed “seeing all the people happy, seeing the masses walk through and how fast the food goes.”

Shirley Coumont, a member of the North Slave Métis Alliance, was there as a volunteer. She’s been coming to the event for more than five years. “It’s like a little reunion,” Coumont said. “I love it, the people coming together, enjoying food together. I think that’s a true community event.” 

“It’s a day to celebrate our homeland,” Coumont said. “Being together, being alive and thriving, and giving and sharing.”

A range of vendors sold arts and crafts at the event, including Lesley Anne Evans, a Yellowknives Dene First Nation artist. She’s been sewing since a young age.

“My mom does it, my aunt, my whole family does this,” she said.

Her interest in sewing came from “learning from them and wanting to carry it on to my girls. So I need to learn to show my girls.” National Indigenous Peoples Day is “always fun and the entertainment, it’s really nice,” Evans said. 

Elizabeth Monroe said it was important for her to attend the event with her daughter Storm, who is Indigenous, to celebrate her culture and recognize the significance of the day.

“Specifically for her and her cousins, it shows them that their culture is important. They can see themselves represented within society – which, growing up here 40 years ago, we did not see nearly enough of, despite the fact that this is Dene land,” she explained.

“I’m thrilled that the city and the population are supporting wonderful events like this and coming out to support Indigenous cultures, whether they are Indigenous or not.”

Caelan Beard contributed reporting.

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