Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons will celebrate First Nations heritage this weekend as it plays host to National Aboriginal Day.

The event takes place Saturday, June 21, and is a time for all Canadians to celebrate the cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people.

Canada chose June 21 because of the cultural significance of the summer solstice and because many Aboriginal groups mark this day as a time to celebrate their heritage.

Sainte-Marie also hosted an Aboriginal festival last weekend, which featured dynamic First Nations performers and exhibits. New this year were the Red Spirit Drum and Dance Group, which brought youth from Ojibway, Cree, Mi' kmaq, Mohawk, and Dakota Nations to share a colourful presentation with visitors.  

Visitors from across Simcoe County and as faraway as Lithuania had the chance to see demonstrations of historic fire-starting, cordage making, trap and snare exhibits, native cooking, bone tools and birch-bark baskets, a furrier display, and edible tea tasting. Other activities included native games such as lacrosse, cornhusk doll and Okie making, children’s heritage crafts and basket making.

For more information, call 526-7838.