11 hours ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
What is National Indigenous Peoples Day and is it a stat holiday?
Saturday, June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day.
It's a date to recognize and celebrate the history, heritage, resilience and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
For generations, many Indigenous groups and communities have celebrated their culture and heritage on or around June 21, according to the
Canadian government's description of the day
, as this time of year is significant due to the summer solstice being the longest day of the year.
In 1982, the National Indian Brotherhood, now the Assembly of First Nations, called for the creation of National Aboriginal Solidarity Day. In 1995, the Sacred Assembly called for a national holiday to celebrate the contributions of Indigenous peoples.
June 21 was proclaimed as National Aboriginal Day in 1996 by then-Gov.-Gen. Roméo LeBlanc. In 2017, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government's intention to rename the day as National Indigenous Peoples Day. The government has been referring to it as such since.
The day is now part of the
Celebrate Canada
program, which includes various cultural summer programs across the country.
You can learn more about National Indigenous Peoples Day and look up a list of events across Canada on the government's
website
.
National Indigenous Peoples Day is observed as a statutory holiday in the Northwest Territories and Yukon, but not anywhere else in Canada.
