The 633 First Nations communities across Canada are coming together Monday to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day, also known as Solidarity Day.
It's a chance to celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures, and outstanding achievements of Canada's First Nations people.
Aamjiwnaang Chief Chris Plain said educating people about Indigenous history is even more important than ever.
"We've had a lot of people come to the community, to our residential school monument," said Plain. "We've gone and shared with them some of the stories. We find that people who may not have been fully aware (of the history) are becoming more aware. With that, there's an increased opportunity to educate people, and share our collective history. Hopefully it'll have a positive impact going forward in terms of understanding some of the intergenerational trauma that our people have faced."
Chief Plain is urging the province to instill Indigenous history into the school curriculum, something that is currently lacking.
He said this year's celebration will be scaled back and socially distant once again due to the COVID pandemic, but is hopeful they can come back strong in 2022.
A number of activities are planned at Aamjiwnaang, including a sacred fire, jingle dress dance, drive-by parade, a t-shirt giveaway, virtual bingo, and boxed lunch.
