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August 2010 Edition What is Planet IndigenUs?

“We are all from somewhere, a place on this earth f rom where we trace our ancestors. Indigenous people trace ancestry back th rough time immemorial to places of origin; places where they are rooted; and places that brought forth a

unique culture, language, spiritual framework and e nvironment.”

Planet IndigenUs is about Us

June 1, 2010 First Nation dancers at Dundas Square celebration. Toronto, Ont.

The Native Canadian Centre of Toronto

hosted a fabulous National Aboriginal

History Month kick-off event on June

1, 2010 in the heart of downtown

Toronto’s Dundas Square. June 2010 is

Canada’s first celebrated National

Aboriginal History Month. Lyndon

Blackbird, president of the Native

Canadian Centre of Toronto, led a team

of volunteers and staff to plan and

organize this fantastic cultural event. The National Aboriginal History Month kick-off in

Toronto opened with an early morning sunrise ceremony held at the Native Canadian

Centre of Toronto. Opening public welcoming addresses were made at Dundas

Square by City of Toronto’s Mayor David Miller, Chief Brian Laforme of the

Mississauga of the New Credit Nation and president of the Native Canadian Centre of

Toronto, Lyndon Blackbird. Lyndon commented, “National Aboriginal History Month is

an annual opportunity for Aboriginal peoples to share their historical contributions and

their culture with all other Canadians. In Toronto, many Aboriginal agencies have

celebrated National Aboriginal Day at various times during the month of June. In

essence, June was already considered Aboriginal Month. With the federal

government's recognition of National Aboriginal History Month, this became an official

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event. As a result, some Aboriginal agencies are moving their celebrations to occur

in June. Others, like the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, have initiated new

celebrations. In addition to cultural showcases, I envision educational seminars, open

houses, art shows, film festivals, storytelling, traditional gatherings and sporting events

to share the richness of Aboriginal culture. During this sharing of knowledge, we also

preserve and use it. We keep it alive, and fulfill our responsibilities to pass it on to the

next seven generations.” Audience viewers witnessed fabulous traditional and

contemporary art work and Aboriginal

entertainment such as the fancy shawl

dance, grass dance, traditional dance,

jingle dress dance, hoop dance, singing

and hip hop showcases. The main stage

afternoon performances were by Metis

Fiddler Quartet, Tonantzin Aztec

Dancers, two-time World Champion Hoop

Dancer, Lisa Odjig, and Inuit throat

Tonantzin Aztec Dancers

singing by Raiglee and Jennifer Alorut. Aboriginal entertainment continued throughout

the day with First Nations School drumming, flute playing, Toronto Nationals Lacrosse

demonstration, talent show, Big Feather (Native Child and Family Services Band),

dance battle (B-boy/B-girl dance demonstrations) and later into the evening the

festivities topped the night off with The Johnnys rock band, and soul tingling

performance by blues guitarist/singer, Brock Stonefish and The Battle River Blues.

Fancy Shawl Dance

Hoop Dance

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Traditional Grass Dancer and City of Toronto’s Mayor David Miller

Toronto Police Constable, Darryl Morrison, of the Ojibwe Nation

Donna Smith, APTN News Reporter

Inuit throat singing by Raiglee and Jennifer Alorut

Singing performance by Shawnee Official

Traditional Hand Drum singing

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35TH Annual First Nations Art, May 21 – July 25, 2010,

Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ont.

The 35th Annual First Nations Art

exhibition is one of the longest running

annual exhibits that provide established

and emerging First Nations' artists an

excellent opportunity to exhibit and sell

their work in a fine art gallery setting.

Museum hours of operation: Tuesday-

Friday 9:00am-4:00pm, Saturday and

Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm.

The Woodland Cultural Centre and Museum will be closed on Mondays. Admission:

adults $7; Sr. 65+ $5; Students 6yrs-16yrs $5; 5yrs and under are FREE. All support

community members receive FREE admission to the museum this includes: Six

Nations, Tyendinage & Wahta.

Woodland Cultural Centre Exhibitions

All That Glitters , August 8 – September 26, 2010

Coastal Arts – The NAAF Collection , August 8 – September 26,

2010 The Four Indian Kings , October 8 – December 24, 2010

Upcoming: Four Kings exhibition for one week only from

October 8 – 15, 2010, see The Original Four Kings P ainting

from the National Portrait Gallery

The Heart of Stone , January 9 – March 13, 2011

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9th World Indigenous Women and Wellness Conference

August 22-25, 2010, Darwin Convention Centre

Darwin, NT, Australia

The 9th World Indigenous Women and

Wellness Conference is presented by

the Larrakia Nation Aboriginal

Corporation. The Larrakia Nation

Aboriginal Corporation are proud hosts of

the 9th World Indigenous Women and

Wellness Conference at the Darwin

Convention Centre, August 22-25, 2010.

This exciting and prestigious event

promises to generate considerable

intellectual dialogue and debate, as well

as create opportunities to strengthen existing networks and forge new ones at both the

local and international level. Featuring world-class speakers and participants from

organizations and communities across the world, the conference marks a significant

gathering for the global Indigenous community. The conference has five interconnect-

ed themes to be explored through paper and poster presentations, keynote speaker

addresses and conference workshops conducted by academics, grass roots

practitioners, leaders and elders.

For more information on the conference, please visit www.larrakiaevents.com . To

register online, visit www.larrakiaevents.com/registration. For more information about

registering please contact Lily May, conference administrator on

reception@larrakia.com or 08 8985 3733. To contact the conference organizers Alice

Buscombe and Sarina Jan, please email conference@larrakia.com.

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September 2010 Event Listings

Photo by Nigel Schuyler

Wabigoon Lake Ojibway traditional

Pow Wow , September 3-5, 2010,

Dryden, Ont. Info: 807-938-6684 or 807-

938-0030

Manoomin Festival traditional Pow

Wow, September 4-5, 2010, Plevna, Ont.

Info: Paula Sherman 705-750-7490 Cost:

Entry by donation. Four wheeler draw and

50/50 draws.

Delaware Nation contest Pow Wow ,

September 4- 5, 2010, Moravian Reserve,

Ont. Highgate Road. Info: 519-692-3936

or 519-692-3969 Six Nations Fall Fair and Contest Pow Wow . September 9-12, 2010, Ohsweken

Fair Grounds, Ohsweken, Ont. Info: 519-758-5444 10th Annual Traditional Pow Wow . September 11-12, 2010 Midland, Ont. Ste Marie

Park. Info: Kathy 705-526-5589 gbnfc@gbnfc.com. Cost: public admission $5 At Husking Time Women’s Conference , September 11, 2010. Chiefswood National Historic Site, Oshweken, Ont. Info: Joslyn Jamieson 519-752-5005

Traditional Harvest Festival & Pow Wow , September 18-19, 2010, Ontario Museum

of Archaeology, London, Ont. Info: Dr. Robert Pearson 519-473. FREE admission.

Concert for the Cure , September 24-25, 2010, Chiefswood Park, Oshweken, Ont.

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Reporting from Australia!

By: Artistic Producer , Melanie Fernandez, Harbourfront Centre

I had the privilege of travelling to Australia last month to attend the amazing Dreaming

Festival which is held outside Brisbane on a wonderful site which is the home of the

Woodford Folk Festival. The Dreaming Festival is a critical important festival because

it showcases Indigenous work from Australia and the Pacific region as well as a

number of international artists.

This year a large contingent of Canadian artists were showcased at the festival. Over

the years, Planet IndigenUs and the Dreaming Festival have developed close ties with

staff of each event, travelling to participate and attend the other. This has resulted in a

number of collaborations.

It was a wonderful experience for me to attend the Dreaming Festival for the first time

and I learned so much from the talented “dream team” of Sam Cooke (replacing

Rhoda Roberts) and Di Mills. You can follow my Dreaming adventures on the Planet

IndigenUs facebook pages along with some photos from the festival. There are some

very interesting components within the Dreaming Festival that we would like to

incorporate in future Planet IndigenUs festivals!

Travelling onwards, I had the opportunity to meet a wonderful range of people in

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Darwin representing the Darwin Festival, literary festival, art fair, cultural

centre service organization and a couple of key music people. The Northern

Territories is a very active region and it was wonderful to learn more about the art,

culture and the context of the region and I feel we will have much more close

collaboration in the future.

Traditional dance performance at the Dreaming Festival

I ended my trip in Sydney and was lucky

to be there at the same time as the 17th

Biennale of Sydney and I saw some

amazing work. I was also able to meet

with Australia Council staff and discuss

how best to work together in the future.

The trip brought forward some amazing

ideas and prospective projects for 2012

so stay tuned!

Musical entertainment and the crowd

A beautiful environment

“Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those

that capture your heart” – Native American elder

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Haida Made: New Collaborations in Design

Exhibition: September 25 – November 7, 2010

Symposium: October 17, 2010

Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Ont.

A collaboration between designers Michael Erdmann, Patty Johnson and Haida Gwaii

First Nations artists with support from the Great Bear Initiative driven by urgent real

world issues. The project aims to maximize the economic and cultural value of forest

resources while protecting the health of forest ecosystems. Through cross-disciplinary

and cross-cultural collaboration, artists explore traditional knowledge and practices

seeking new product applications. Part of Fresh Ground new works , Harbourfront

Centre’s national commissioning programme. Stay tuned for more information in the next Planet IndigenUs 2010 newsletter, and be

sure to visit us online at www.harbourfrontcentre.com.

Harbourfront Centre Sponsors: